Friendship
by KawaiiChica
Summary: Allura and Lance have gotten real chummy, why does it bother Keith? And what would happen if Allura was given time off from being a Princess? First fic- R&R Please!
1. Lance and Allura?

Title: Friendship  
  
Author: KawaiiChica  
  
E-mail: KawaiiChica@fangirl.org  
  
Rating: PG-13 (for now)  
  
Summary: Allura and Lance have gotten real chummy, why does it bother Keith? And what would happen if Allura was given time off from being a Princess?  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never will be. Want my own Lance but its not happening.   
  
A.N.: Its been a while since I saw this show, from what I remember, Lance lost his family in an attack so I'm going with that and I'm changing their ages a bit. Keith, Lance and Hunk are 19, Pidge is 16, and Allura is about to turn 18.   
  
" " Speaking  
[] Thoughts  
  
***********   
  
"You guys ever just watch her?"  
  
The guys stood at a table clearing up the food they'd been handing out.  
  
"Watch her what?" Pidge asked  
  
"Always out helping the people and keeping their hopes up, always cheerful and bright. I couldn't do it." Lance watched as Allura helped a little boy trying to grab a fruit from a tree and smiled.  
  
"She's got to be strong, she's their ruler and leader, if she's not cheerful how can her people be? She's their rock." Pidge spoke from beside Lance.  
  
Keith watched Allura carefully as she was surrounded by a group of women and took a baby from one of them. "You guys ever regret having her join the team?"  
  
"Sometimes"  
  
"When she got hurt"  
  
"No"  
  
"You don't?" the group turned to Lance and were surprised by the angry looks he gave them.  
  
"I don't regret her being on the team, she's probably the best thing to happen to us despite the consequences and if she hears any of you guys talking like that she'll be terribly hurt, she  
already thinks she's an outsider with us." with that and a final glare, he headed over to where Nanny had joined Allura and was obviously saying something unpleasant.  
  
The guys watched curiously, wondering about Lance's attitude with the princess.   
  
"Have you noticed how they've gotten lately?" Pidge asked as Lance offered Allura his arm and they said their good-byes, he helped her mount her black mare and settled onto his own horse beside hers.  
  
Hunk shrugged and headed over to his own horse, "They do seem to be hanging out a lot more lately, he's always watching over her, and then there's those looks they'e always giving one   
another."   
  
"Yeah I noticed those too." Pidge and Keith followed, Keith remaining quiet.  
  
[I wonder what is going on with those two.] Following not far behind the pair, Keith felt an odd pang in his chest as Allura turned and stuck her toungue out at Lance while Nanny looked   
away.   
  
Shaking his head, Lance laughed and reached over to whisper something Allura. Whatever he said must have been one of his trademark 'innapropriate' comments, becuase Allura gave him a  
wide-eyed look. Then a blush stained her cheeks and she smacked him on the arm, urging her horse slightly ahead. Laughing harder, Lance moved up and took his place by her side.  
  
"See what I mean? They're all buddy-buddy lately." Pidge turned to Keith and Hunk, not surprised to see Keith looking calm as ever, but an odd light in his eyes caught Pidge's attention and his curiosity doubled.  
  
***********  
  
"You know we'll get into trouble with Nanny if we're caught." Lance whispered as he was pulled along the dark hallway.  
  
Allura turned with an impish grin and shrugged, "That what makes it so much fun!"   
  
Shaking his head, he followed her down a back stairwell and into the castle's large kitchen. Heading straight for the smallest freezer, Allura let go of his arm and pulled out a large tub of  
chocolate chip ice-cream. Walking over to where Lance stood beside a counter with two bowls and spoons. She handed over the tub and let him serve the snack while she hopped onto the counter.   
  
Glancing at her while he served, Lance couldn't keep from smiling at her youthful enthusiasm. [She's been through so much crap and she's still such an innocent, thank God the war's over.] Putting the ice cream away he hopped onto the counter beside her and was   
handed his bowl.  
  
"So what where did we leave off last night?"  
  
"I forgot, lets start with... worst party?" Lance took a bite of his ice cream and waited.  
  
"Ok well... the worst party I ever went to or hosted?" Allura asked.  
  
"Both"  
  
She sat thinking for moment, "The worst party I ever went to was my tenth birthday party and that's also the worst party I've ever hosted."  
  
"Your own birthday party? Why?" Lance set his empty bowl aside and scooted closer to her.  
  
Allura shrugged, "It was a simple party, father invited my so-called-friends from the royal academy I attended but in reality most of those kids didn't like me so while they played games and ate my cake. I got to sit with them and hear their whispered taunts and stuff."  
  
"The little jerks! They were mean to you at your party?" Lance stopped taking from her ice cream.  
  
Nodding, she set aside her empty bowl and spoon, "I was the one with the most money so they tried to put me down so I didn't get conceited."   
  
"There's logic for ya" Lance mumbled and shook his head. "You know kids think the dumbest things sometimes."  
  
"Oh really? What did you think that was dumb as a kid?" Allura nudged his side as he shook his head at her.  
  
"Ah... no. I was talking about kids in general."  
  
"Fine but now its my turn to ask and I want to know what dumb thoughts you had as a kid." she gave him another grin and swung her feet.  
  
"Hmm... I... used to believe that movies were real and that the bad guys in them would one day come out and get me if I didn't listen to my parents." His smile dimmed as he mentioned his parents.  
  
"Yep I used to think so too, I still get a little freaked out when watching horror movies but that's ok, I know they're not real now." she froze as a noise suddenly came from the hallway  
outside the kitchen door.  
  
Jumping off the counter and pushing the bowls towards the sink, Lance pulled Allura down and led her over to one of the large pantries where they could both hide.   
  
As they closed the door to the pantry, the kitchen door was opened and the lights came on. "I know I forgot those keys in here somewhere!" Nanny's voice floated past them as she passed the pantries and headed over to the drawers and shuffled through a few.  
  
With the minimal amount of light that entered the small space they occupied, Lance and Allura stood both worried about getting caught and feeling like laughing at their silly predicament.  
Looking over Lances shoulder to one of the shelves, Allura's eyes widened and she reached out behind him. Pulling her hand in between them, she opened her palm to reveal the keys Nanny  
was searching for.   
  
"Shit" Lance whispered and froze in the act of taking them from her as Nanny's shuffling neared the pantry and doors to the other ones could be heard opening.  
  
Looking around quickly, Lance took the keys from Allura and pushed her to a side of the doors. "Flatten yourself as much as possible against the wall and pull the door open to cover you once she steps in."   
  
Leaving the keys on a shelf directly in front of the doors where Nanny couldn't not see them, Lance stood on the other side of the doorway and held his breath as the doors suddenly swung open towards them and Nanny walked in.  
  
"I knew I'd left them here in the kitchen somewhere!" grabbing the keys and leaving quickly, Nanny didn't take long to exit the kitchen and soon the light outside the pantry doors was turned off.   
  
Allura stood against the wall holding back her giggles until the lights went out. "I can't believe that was so close! Can you imagine the scolding we would have gotten if she'd found  
us?"   
  
"That was a bit too close for my taste but it was fun." Lance closed the pantry and followed her silently out of the kitchen and up to the hallway where there rooms were located. Since  
they were on opposite sides of the hallway, Allura stepped up and hugged him quickly, pecking his cheek and smiling.   
  
"Thanks Lance, I'm sorry I had to wake you up again so late."  
  
Messing up her hair, he grinned and tipped up her chin, "You know I don't mind these late night chats Allie, I'm always here if you need me k-?"  
  
After a teary-eyed nod, Allura squeazed him arm slightly before heading over to her room.  
  
[I hope she really does know we're here for her, I'm surprised she hasn't turned to Keith or Hunk for help instead of me.] Lance watched her enter her room and turn to go to his.  
  
As he turned he was caught off guard at the sight he met.  
  
Standing outside their doors were all three of the remaining Voltron Force members with very curious looks on their faces. Hunk and Pidge looked both confused and amused, Keith's   
impassive look displayed nothing, but his fiery eyes gave away his jealousy. [Wow! Keith's jealous of me and the princess? There's nothing going on with us!] Smirking at the thought of  
making 'commander' Keith jealous, Lance casually strolled past them to his room.  
  
"Shouldn't you guys be asleep? You know we have an early meeting in the morning!" Without looking back he closed his door behind him and chuckled as he went to bed. [So Keith's got a thing for   
Allie... this should be fun...]  
  
***********  
  
Author's Note:  
  
-- Don't forget to Review! I'm more likely to continue if I   
get feedback.   
  
~ K.C. ~ 


	2. Why Lance?

Title: Just Friends  
  
Author: KawaiiChica  
  
E-mail: KawaiiChica@fangirl.org  
  
Rating: PG-13 (for now)  
  
Summary: Allura and Lance are getting quite chummy, why does it bother Keith so much?   
  
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never will be. Want my own Lance but its not happening.   
  
  
***********  
  
Lance couldn't help but chuckle as Allura covered her yawn carefully, trying to hide the sleepiness in her eyes. [Poor thing's gotta be exhausted, she's had almost no sleep this week.]   
  
Wondering about that, Lance realized he'd never asked for her reason for their late night chats. She'd been walking down the hallway to her room one night when he'd come out of his to get a glass of water from the kitchen. They'd both been pleasantly surprised to find the other awake and she went downstairs with him to talk- thus their chats had begun.  
  
The guys had known she'd been through a lot, of course they knew that, but in his talks with her, he'd learned things she hadn't even told Nanny and Koran. Things from the times she'd left the castle on visits and royal trips.  
  
Telling about her vacations with her father, Allura's eyes sparkled happily. Visits to her grandfather on her mother's side were apparently very unpleasant for her and   
she preferred not to talk about him at all.   
  
Her other grandfather had died a few years earlier, but he'd been very close to her. She told him about his best friend's grandson- Theodore- who'd been her best friend in childhood. He had his own kingdom now, the crowned prince of Gael.  
  
[She's tired though, I love our little soul-bearing sessions but they've got to stop- just look at her.]  
  
Often, Allura would convince him to help her with her fighting skills. Creeping into the gym, they would practice hand to hand combat, he taught her self-defence and she   
taught him yoga.   
  
Watching her now, Lance noticed the make-up she'd worn to cover up the circles under her eyes. She sat straight as ever, except it was apparent she was struggling not to stoop or fall over in her chair. She stifled another yawn and glanced around the conference table, her eyes meeting his for a second before turning back to Keith who was explaining about some of the building to be done.  
  
"But what now? Are we staying on Arus or being sent somewhere else?" Hunk asked.  
  
"I'm not sure, Galaxy Garrison has yet to reach us and tell us what's next. For now we just keep with the building and helping here on Arus." Keith said.  
  
"The people are very glad that you are all here for a bit longer at least." Allura smiled.  
  
"Glad to be here princess, but I'm sure you'd like..." Lance started to speak only to be interrupted by Allura.  
  
"Oh no! Don't start on that one again Lance, we already agreed not to go into that anymore!" Allura stood as she noticed the time.  
  
"I'm sorry if you will excuse me, I promised to go into town today and help out a friend of mine." She gathered her papers and exited.  
  
Pidge turned to Lance, "What was that about?"  
  
Lance was standing to go also, "What was what about?"  
  
"That remark the princess made, not to start that one again, what one?" Pidge stood.  
  
Shrugging, Lance chuckled at Allura's expression when telling him not to start. It was a discussion they'd had many times and agreed to disagree on.  
  
"So what are our plans for the rest of the day?" Hunk asked Keith as they all headed down to the control room.  
  
"I had planned on having us train for a while but with the Princess gone that wouldn't be of any use." Keith shrugged.  
  
Lance, however, lost his cheeriness and turned cool eyes to his friend. "What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
The guys stopped at the bottom of the main stairwell and looked at Lance, who stood above them with an angry frown.  
  
Keith shrugged, "Allura's the main reason we do those training exercises at all. Sure, its good for us to practice and stuff but she's the one who needs the practice most."  
  
Lance was apparently displeased by his answer and stepped down towards Keith. "With all due respect, commander, that's a load of bull and you know it."  
  
"Is it?" Keith asked, confused at Lance's anger but not liking the way he enunciated the term 'commander'   
  
"Damned right it is!" Lance burst out, "You know she's working hard to catch up to us and she's gotten a whole lot better since she first joined."  
  
Keith nodded, "I'll admit that, but we haven't practiced with her since the Doom Kingdom fell."   
  
"So what Keith? you have to admit even last time we practiced, she didn't miss a single command you gave her. She kept the lion locked in formation, hit every target, and carried out every order perfectly." Lance gave him a -go ahead and TRY to deny it- look.  
  
"He's right about that Keith, Allura's been better and better during every practice session we've had." Hunk agreed.  
  
"Yep, I think she's been working on her own in the simulator or something." Pidge added.  
  
"She has, she's been working in the simulator, working out in the gym, she's working herself hard to meet up with our skills." Lance told continued, "Despite all the meetings she's had with the nobles on the re-construction, her studies, and all her time spent out with the people in town and her trips to those in need who can't come for help. She's been working on her fighting skills too."  
  
"How would you know?" Keith asked   
  
Lance smirked, "I've been there, worked with her, trained her... talked."   
  
"You've been training the princess?" Pidge stared  
  
"Sure, she was glad for the help." Lance was interrupted as Allura came down towards them at the bottom of the steps.  
  
"Who was glad for the help?" she asked curiously, wearing a long black cloak covering her clothes, she stepped down beside Lance, who grinned and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.  
  
"I was telling the guys about our training sessions," moving his hand forward, he pulled the button that held her cloak closed quickly before she could stop him and pulled the cloak off.  
  
"Hey!" Allura squeaked and lunged at him.  
  
"Oh no, you should have known you couldn't get off that easily, now stand still while I make sure you're decent." Lance held the cloak away from her and looked over her outfit. Allura huffed and stood straight, glaring into his laughing eyes, both forgetting about the others momentarily.  
  
Pidge brought them back with a "Holy cow!"  
  
Allura glanced at them and noticed their wide eyed looks. Giggling she took held the edge of her skirt and turned to show off her outfit completely,   
  
"You like?"   
  
All three nodded, still in shock over her state of dress or undress in this case.  
  
Lance shook his head teasingly at her as he looked her over. [Damn she looks good]  
  
Staring at the princess before him, Keith struggled to keep from drooling.   
  
Allura wore a light blue skirt that fell to mid-thigh, and a white spagetti strap tank top that clung like a second skin, accentuating her lush curves in all the right places. On her bare arms she wore a watch and a simple silver bracelet on the opposite wrist. Her waist-long hair hung behind her, held back by a thin silver headband. On her feet was a pair of simple light blue pumps.  
  
Glancing up and around them, Allura sighed and turned back to Lance, who still held her cloak. "So do you want to give me that back before I get in trouble with Nanny?"   
  
"I'm not so sure, where are you going?" Lance asked  
  
Allura rolled her eyes and put out her hand, "I told you I'm going into town to help out a friend."  
  
"Wearing that?" he replied skeptically.,"and which friend?"  
  
She looked down at herself, "What's wrong with it? Its a lot more practical than my princess dresses because I don't have all those skirts to get in the way."   
  
"Yeah, well getting rid of all those skirts does not mean you should get rid of all skirts, that thing you're wearing is way too short Allie." Lance heard Nanny's voice coming from the kitchens and hurried to put her cloak around her again.  
  
He finally noticed she'd pinned one of her petticoats onto the cloak to make it look like she was wearing one of her large dresses.  
  
"Sneaky little imp" he shook his head at her as he closed the button.  
  
"Taught by the best" she replied sweetly.   
  
Neither noticed the familiarity between them, which the others watched silently.  
  
Allura smiled as he called her an imp and teased him right back. She hadn't minded his reproaching her on her skirt, she acted like he'd done it before- this was like second nature to both of them.   
  
[When did they get so close?] Keith wondered, watching as Lance ordered her to wait there for him while he ran up to change.   
  
"But I wanted to get going already" Allura actually whined and pouted, batting her lashes at him.   
  
Lance chucked her beneath her chin and winked, "If you wait I'll take you on..."  
  
Her face suddenly lit up, "You finished it?!"   
  
Lance nodded, "Paint finished drying this morning."  
  
"Ok!" Allura pushed him up a few more steps, "Hurry up already I wanna go for that ride!"   
  
Laughing, Lance headed upstairs to change out of his dirty clothes. He'd been working on his bike in the garage before the meeting and just thrown a jacket over his dirty shirt to make himself presentable.  
  
Allura turned with her glowing smile to the guys. "So what was he telling you about our sessions?"  
  
"Not much, just that you had been working really hard to improve your fighting skills on the simulator and in the gym." Hunk replied.  
  
Allura giggled, "Yeah that's true, he's been helping me get tougher, amongst other things." she whispered the last part more for herself.  
  
"So when did you two get so buddy-buddy?" Pidge cut to the chase.  
  
"Umm... well I guess over these past... 3 or 4 months? I'm surprised you guys didn't notice before." Allura stepped down and sat on the bottom step, wrapping her arms around her knees through the petticoats.  
  
Pidge and Hunk came over to sit beside her on either side. "So you guys seem pretty close now."  
  
Allura nodded, "I suppose we are, we've been talking a lot lately and we've come to understand one another well. He's probably my best friend."  
  
"Why Lance?" Keith blurted out  
  
The three on the steps looked up at him questioningly, Allura shrugged, "Because he's the one who's been able to see past my title of princess to just me- Allura."  
  
Keith frowned, "What's that supposed to mean?"   
  
Allura sighed, smoothing out some wrinkles in the cloak. "Its just that Lance has never cared that I'm a princess. He only uses that title with me when necessary, he's always called me Allura when relaxed and hanging out, even that time we went swimming and my bathing suit top came off, he teased me for days."  
  
She smiled at the memory, and looked up and at each of the guys. "He gets me, not the princess me but the girl or the woman, whichever. He doesn't care about my title or let that get in the way of our friendship... I don't like being 'Princess Allura' or   
'Your Majesty' or even just 'Princess' and he understands that."   
  
She leaned back with her elbows on the step behind her, "Sometimes he'll be a jerk and remind me of my place, but not ussually. Plus he's the only one to make an effort to be friendly. Even when I tried to join one of you in your favorite activities, things were awkward because you all kept calling me 'Princess' and worrying about being polite around me."   
  
Nanny appeared just then, flustered as always and bustled up to Allura. "What are you doing sitting on the steps like that princess? You know better, royalty should not touch the floor!"  
  
"Yes Nanny" Allura stood and dusted off her cloak.  
  
"Are you going somewhere?" Nanny asked.  
  
"Yes, I told you I had promised to go into town and help out Maru with Padme." Allura reminded her.  
  
"Well don't come home too late and take one of the members of the force with you for protection." Nanny straightened out her headband and hurried out into another hallway, off to clean something else or assign some more work to the maids.   
  
"Ready to go?" Lance asked as he came down quickly.  
  
Wearing dark blue jeans, a black t-shirt that showed off his well-toned upper body and his favorite jacket on top, he grinned his trademark grin and stepped up beside Allura, placing a hand at the small of her back like it was the most natural thing in the world.  
  
"Yep all set" Allura tugged at his jacket a little to see his shirt. "You know, I'm gonna get those evil glares from the girls again if you go like this."  
  
"Like I won't get nearly beaten to a pulp just for standing near you?" Lance smirked, "At least I can flirt with the girls."   
  
Allura frowned and elbowed him in the side, "That was uncalled for! I know well enough I'm not really 'just a girl' Lance! I don't need reminding that I can't flirt back!"   
  
Turning and heading towards the garage he'd been keeping his motorcylce, Allura smiled at the guys as she passed by them. "See you later guys!"  
  
Lance followed, "See ya." Catching up to her quickly, he was apologizing as they rounded the corner and dissapeared from the other's view.  
  
They stood silently for a moment, each caught up in their thoughts. Pidge was the one to break the silence.   
  
"You know, she's right about that. Lance is the only one of us who's really seen past her place as the Princess. I've always kind of thought of her as this porcelain doll we might break."   
  
"Me too, I found it weird to be in a kitchen cooking with royalty. I guess I forget she's a person too." Hunk sighed.  
  
Keith stayed silent, not noticing the looks he was getting from the guys.   
  
***********  
  
K- that's it for now. I'd really like some more reviews   
  
~bats her eyes~   
  
Please?! Review! :D  
  
~ K.C. ~ 


	3. Falling asleep

Title: Friendship  
  
Author: KawaiiChica  
  
E-mail: KawaiiChica@fangirl.org  
  
Rating: PG-13   
  
Summary: Allura and Lance are getting quite chummy, why does it bother Keith so much? And what would happen if Allura were allowed to be just a regular girl?  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never will be. Want my own Lance but its not happening.   
  
***********  
"Good evening Oma, I'm here to pick up Allura. We really need to get going or we'll be in serious trouble with Nanny and Koran." Lance greeted the older woman who opened the door to the small home.  
  
"Of course! Come on in young man, which one are you? You'll have to excuse my bad memory dear but at my age I'm lucky if I get my children's names right and them I see every day." the woman laughed and led him into the kitchen.  
  
Lance laughed as well, enjoying the tour of the small woman's humble home. [Reminds me of when I was a kid.] Realizing he was being waited on, he cleared his throat and introduced himself.  
  
"Lance m'am, the name's Lance." he sat in the chair she pulled out for him, across from hers.  
  
"And you're here with the little one how nice. She's such a doll, but I won't waste your time praising her since you probably know how wonderful she is." the woman smiled for a second before becoming serious and stating solemnly.  
  
"But something's wrong with her."   
  
"Wrong with Allura?" Lance asked uneasliy, he'd thought so too lately but felt it was just his imagination.  
  
Oma nodded, "She's working too hard, you can read it in her eyes if you know her well enough to look for the signs. She wearing a lot of make up today, her smiles are not quite as natural, and she had to sit down outside for a moment."   
  
Lance figured it was probably the heat. He was about to ask what that had to do with things when she kept speaking.  
  
"Not due to the warmth in here, her hands are still ice cold despite the three hours she's spent holding Padme while Maru rests." she stirred the pot she'd been sitting beside and took a sip of the broth.  
  
"Her hands are cold?" Lance asked.  
  
"Yes, her hands are cold, you can see her shiver from time to time and her eyes look tired." she set down her spoon and looked back at him.  
  
"So you're saying she needs to rest?"   
  
Nodding, she added, "She needs a break, perhaps she should leave."  
  
Lance frowned, "Leave Arus? There's no way she could leave her home, not that she would."  
  
Shaking her head, she waved away his protests, "She could leave now, at least for a time. She's been fighting and struggling to keep her people together and safe. I hear she's heading up the building project for the new hospitals and medical clinics. She comes to the villages  
at least three times a week, plus her studies. She has to deal with the people at Galaxy Garrison and trains as a fighter. The stress is too much for a girl of her age, she's just turning 18!"   
  
"You know... she won't tell me when her birthday is" Lance mused.  
  
"Its the day after tomorrow." Oma stirred the pot again.  
  
"She wasn't gonna tell me... I'll talk to Koran about that break." Lance promised  
  
"That old hissy-fit won't agree with you Lance, you're gonna have to go to Dr. Gorma and see if he'll help you, otherwise she'll never get any rest. And if he does help you and you manage to get her some time off, make sure you get it in writing." their conversation was abruptly cut of by Maru coming downstairs with baby Padme.  
  
Lance stood and greeted the young mother, Maru was only 19 with a 9 month old baby. She lived with Oma in the small house and had been caring for her sick baby for the past week, the intense heat in the house was due to doctor's orders to keep the baby warm.   
  
"Hello Lance, come by to pick up Allura?" Maru handed Padme to Oma.  
  
"Yeah, we've gotta get going or we'll be in for it with you-know-who." he shrugged and followed her upstairs, listening to her chat about the baby's sickness and how sweet it was of Allura to go by to help.  
  
"She's like that, can't stand by and not help one of her friends." Lance commented and grinned as he entered a room behind Maru.  
  
"She was awake and helping fold when I went downstairs." Maru whispered as she tip-toed over beside the princess asleep on top of a pile of laundry.  
  
Lance nodded and bent to scoop Allura into his arms. Shivering, Allura snuggled into him, mumbling something in her sleep.   
  
"She hasn't gotten much sleep lately." Lance said as he walked downstairs and had her cloak settled over her. Allura had removed the pinned petticoats so that the cloak wouldn't get in the way on the bike ride.   
  
"Thanks" Lance smiled and said his good-byes as her Oma came from the kitchen with Padme in her arms.  
  
Settling onto his bike with Allura balled up in front of him, Lance made sure to cover her up carefully to protect her from the cold wind on the way home.   
  
***********  
  
"Ok, how did I end up in my room last night?" Allura asked as she stepped into the dinning room the next morning.   
  
"Morning to you too" Lance smirked and pulled out a chair beside him.   
  
Flopping into it sideways so her back was on Lance's arm, Allura leaned her head against his shoulder and stifled a sleepy yawn with her hand. "Mornin' guys, sleep well?" she asked the others.  
  
Everyone nodded, Keith watching the familiarity between the two across from him. Lance lifted his shoulder a bit to get her attention and used his opposite arm to hand her some buttered toast with strawberry jam. "Thanks" she smiled and took a bite, not bothering to take it from him.   
  
"So not only do I get to ride home with you asleep on my lap, I get to feed you the next morning too?" Lance teased, setting down the toast on the plate before her.  
  
"Uh-huh, you got that right buddy" Allura smiled and sighed as Nanny's voice approached, angry and in full lecture mode.  
  
"What'd I do now?" Allura mused tiredly  
  
"Well, could be the fact that you came down to breakfast in your pj bottoms and tank top with nothing covering your upper body, as is proper." Lance shrugged, "No clue babe."  
  
"No, you're probably right, I didn't want to wear that stuffy cover robe so I just came down without it." turning to rest her cheek against his shoulder, Allura wrapped her arms around his arm whispering, "I'm gonna be busy today and I'm so tired."   
  
"Push back a couple meetings and get some sleep Allie, no joke, you need to rest." Lance pulled his arm away to lift her chin and make eye contact, geting a much better look at her face and frowning.   
  
"You're wearing make-up already to cover those circles huh?"   
  
Allura's eyes widened but she quickly shook her head, "Don't be silly Lance, you saw me drag myself in here. I'd just gotten out of bed when I came down." she smiled and pulled away, turning to the piece of toast on her plate.  
  
"You do look tired prin-" Pidge was cut off by an annoyed princess.  
  
"Can't you PLEASE try to call me Allura? You all seemed so hurt yesterday when you were watching Lance and I, even now you seem rather upset. I'm just a girl, can't you forget even for a moment that I happen to have to wear a crown every once in a while and just treat me as you  
would any other female friend?" Allura tapped her fingers on the table top impatiently.   
  
They all nodded, relieved smiles appearing on Pidge and Hunk's faces. Keith gave her a lop-sided smile and stood. "You're gonna want more than that piece of toast right?"  
  
He came around and handed her the toast, taking her plate to get her some food. Nanny entered just then, scolding Allura for not wearing her robe and informing her that Koran would be there shortly to go over her list of things to do for the day.  
  
"Great," Allura ate her toast quietly, while putting on her robe. As Keith settled her plate, now filled with eggs, ham and bacon, she smiled up and thanked him.  
  
"Any time prin... Allie." he excused himself and headed out to find Koran.   
  
"Hey that's my nickname for you!" Lance whined childishly, causing Allura to giggle before rolling her eyes at him.  
  
"You didn't even come up with that, I told you my best friend Teddy called me Allie and you took his name for me, so Keith can do the same." she scrunched up her nose playfully at him and turning to her food, winked at Pidge who's gaze she met momentarily.  
  
***********  
  
"I can't believe its only 3 in the afternoon, it feels so much later." Allura sighed and waved to one of the kids calling her name. She walked alongside Keith watching over the kids playing.  
  
"You thik so? I think if feels early." Keith said, suddenly bowling over in 'pain' as one of the kids ran up and shot him.   
  
"Now I get to be the princess' boyfriend!" the little boy yelled and turned to Allura with a huge grin on his face. "Now you can't go back to him while I'm gone ok? I'm gonna go save some other people." running off, he left a confused Keith and Allura watching him.  
  
"Boyfriend?" Keith wondered  
  
"Where'd he get that?" Allura scanned the area and saw Lance standing off not far away with a smirk on his face, her eyes made contact with his. "Lance!" she shook her head at him and turned away.   
  
Seeing Keith still on the ground, she cleared her throat to get his attention.   
  
"I was just wondering about what the little boy said." Keith shrugged and sat back, "Not to mention I'm pretty comfortable."  
  
Allura looked around for Nanny and seeing her missing, sat down beside Keith, settling her large dress around her. "You know, I really wish I didn't have to wear these, they're so annoying."   
  
Once settled she turned to Keith, watching her with no expression on his face again. "So what was it you were thinking about? The 'boyfriend' comment?"   
  
He nodded and turned back to the kids, "Yeah, no big deal, so what time do we leave?"   
  
Allura checked her watch, "In about half an hour when the kids go in, then you guys are done."  
  
"And you?" he asked, turning back to look at her.  
  
Allura shrugged, "Meeting with the town's people to decide where the medical center is to be put up and stuff. Then I'm going back to Maru's to make sure Padme's ok and then home."   
  
Keith studied her face quietly [Her eyes are kind of dull, not excited or sparkling. She is wearing quite a bit of make-up and her shoulders are actually drooping.]  
  
Suddenly a little girl walked up and sat beside Keith, "You know if you look up at the clouds you can see shapes in them." she lay back and patted the spot behind him.  
  
Smiling and laying back, Keith was surprised when she scooted over, lifted his arm around her and lay her head on him. Pointing up she explained that to see the same cloud, you're heads must be close together.  
  
"Quite right Elva, I used to love watching clouds with my friend and we always lay with our heads close together." Allura smiled at the sight of Keith and the little girl.  
  
Elva smiled at the princess and patted Keith's chest, "I'm sure Keith won't mind if you join us, would you?" she turned to him.  
  
Keith nodded and smiled at the uncertain princess still sitting beside him. "No problem, go ahead if you'd like."  
  
"Ok" moving his arm, Allura lay with her head on his chest near Elva's, his arm wrapped around her waist comfortably. [Mmm... he smells nice] Allura smiled before snapping out of her thoughts and concentrating on the clouds being pointed at.   
  
After a few clouds had been named, the kids had to go inside, so Elva stood and said her goodbyes to Keith and Allura, only Keith answered however.   
  
"She fell asleep on you" Elva giggled while looking down at the slumbering princess.  
  
Feeling Allura's even breathing, Keith nodded at the little girl standing over them. "I guess she did"  
  
"I have to go now, say goodbye to her for me when she wakes up ok?" Elva started walking away before turning to see Keith rolling over carefully, sliding Allura's head from his shoulder to his arm so he could lift her.  
  
She stopped to watch a few feet away and sighed dreamily as her favorite member of the Voltron force picked up the sleeping princess. [Its like a story book]   
  
"Elva!" The teacher's voice interrrupted her day dreaming. Skipping toward the schoolhouse she smiled and excused herself to Miss Presta and the rest of the Voltron force who stood by the doorway waiting for them.  
  
"I'm sorry, it was just so romantic seeing him carry her like that!" Elva sighed and tried to step by when Lance stopped her.  
  
"Who carried whom?" he asked  
  
She pointed to where Keith came down with Allura in his arms. "He's carrying the princess here."  
  
"Ok go back inside for your snack with everyone else now," Miss Presta ordered soflty, watching the young man approaching them.  
  
The guys stepped out and hurried over to Keith.  
  
"What happened to her?" Pidge asked  
  
"Is she all right?" Hunk moved some hair from her face  
  
"She's fine, she just fell asleep." Keith shifted her in his arms and stopped as her eyes fluttered open.   
  
"Keith? What...?" she smiled shyly up at him and held his arm as he set her feet down.   
  
"You fell asleep while naming the clouds" he explained, feeling an odd coldness come over him as she stepped away.  
  
"Thank you for carrying me down here, I'm sorry I fell asleep" Allura wiped the sleepiness from her eyes carefully so as not to smudge her make up.  
  
"Princess if you don't leave now you will be late for the town council meeting." Nanny came up and told her as she draped Allura's cloak over her shoulders.  
  
"I'm going Nanny" Allura sighed and smiled sadly at the guys, "Enjoy your time off ok?"  
  
"Sure thing" Hunk answered a bit sadly.  
  
Remembering that Nanny wouldn't be going with Allura to the meeting, Lance stepped beside her and offered her his arm. "You'll need an escort"   
  
Laying her hand on it, Allura said her goodbyes to the kids and the rest of the team before going out to the awaiting limo. Lance helped her in and then followed, settling beside her.  
  
"I've been telling you to get more rest Allie, today proves that you're working yourself too hard." He told her seriously.  
  
"I'm fine Lance, just a little tired but I can deal with that. There's too much to be done right now for me to take a long rest." Allura smiled softly up at him, "Now shush and let me get in another small nap on the way there, if I'm lucky the driver will go slowly and I'll get a full half hour of sleep."  
  
"Fine" Lanced turned so she could lean on him and watched as she lifted her legs on the empty side of the seat. Pulling her over so her back leaned against his chest, he smiled as she wrapped his right arm around her and snuggled her head into his shoulder.   
  
"Much better" she whispered before falling quickly asleep.  
  
***********  
  
I hope that chapter was good, longer than the previous ones. Thank you to those of you who've reviewed- even the ones I had to coerce (Barbara :D) I'm surprised at how many people like seeing and A/L story, I hadn't thought of making it about them but... I'm starting to like it too. We'll see won't we?   
  
- Please don't forget to review! Thanks!  
  
  
~ K.C. ~ 


	4. Birthday gift

Title: Friendship  
  
Author: KawaiiChica  
  
E-mail: KawaiiChica@fangirl.org  
  
Rating: PG-13   
  
Summary: Allura and Lance have gotten real chummy, why does it bother Keith? And what would happen if Allura was given time off from being a Princess?  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never will be. Want my own Lance but its not happening.  
  
Author's Notes: I'm using some modern things in the story- sorry I kind of had to - like cars, motorcycles, condo's and pretty much a major city (which I just made up a random name for) I know it doesn't fit in too well, but if you look at the 3-D Voltron, their Galaxy Garrison was pretty modern looking so I figured I'd add some of our culture into the story. I'm also making up last names for them, because I can't recall what they were originally. Hope its not too bad.  
  
" " Speaking  
[ ] Thoughts  
  
***********   
  
- The Next day -  
  
After checking his watch, Lance realized it was almost time for Allura to go on her daily visit to Maru's house. "Allura you need to go change don't you?"  
  
Allura nodded, "Thanks Lance, I will in a moment."  
  
"Call me when you go ok?" Lance pulled out his communicator.  
  
"Sure thing!"   
  
Hearing Hunk and Pidge arguing over something in the game room behind him, Lance entered and grinned as he joined in their game of billiards. Keith soon entered the room and joined the game also.  
  
About two hours later, Lance was watching a game of darts between Keith and Hunk when his communicator went off.   
  
"Lance here"   
  
static...  
  
"Hello? Koran what is it?" he asked and got nothing but static. "Hello?!"   
  
[Something's wrong... Allie never called me!]  
  
Moving away from the room towards the doorway he tried reaching her. "Allie - Princess is it you? Come in Allura!"  
  
The seriousness in Lance's voice startled the others who were used to hearing his carefree jokes and tone of voice.   
  
"Lance what is it?" Keith stepped up beside him.  
  
"Something's not right- something to do with Allura, we've gotta go." Turning towards the doors, he stepped out of the windowless game room and noticed the downpour outside the nearest window.   
  
"Oh damn!" forgetting about the others behind him, he ran through the hallways, down the stairs to the control room and down to the lion launch pad where he'd parked his rebuilt motorcylce.   
  
Driving out and across the bridge to the castle, Lance pulled out his communicator again and tried Allura's. "Princess come in- can you hear me Allura?"   
  
Nothing but static for a few minutes and a few more tries. Riding on his bike through the rain, Lance realized he'd left his coat back at the castle. Just as he was about to try Allura's communicator again, Keith contacted him.  
  
"Lance we're out in our lions searching, something happened to her communicator because Koran can't get a signal from it, if you find her..."  
  
"Check in, of course!" pushing his bangs out of his eyes, Lance noticed a bundle up ahead to the side of the road.  
  
"Keith I've gotta go, its kind of hard to drive single handed!" Cutting off the conversation, he slowed down and hopped off his bike to check out the figure.  
  
[Black cloak, hood over their head... is that blond hair?]  
  
Hurrying over and tapping the figure carefully, he heard a familiar moan and sighed with relief. He rolled her over and was relieved to see no large wounds. Lifting her into his arms, he felt the coldness from her and pulled her closer. Sitting back on the bike, he pulled out his communicator and contacted Black Lion. "Keith I found her, she's freezing and unconscious. Have Dr. Gorma waiting for us when we arrive, I'll get her there in five or less."  
  
Looking down at the pale princess he wondered what had happened. He bundled her up as carefully as possible since they were both soaking wet, and held her in front of him on the bike. Feeling her shiver, Lance pulled her closer and sped up.  
  
***********  
  
"So doctor how is she?" Koran asked as soon as Dr. Gorma stepped out of the princess' room.  
  
Rubbing his temples for a second, Dr Gorma sighed, "She's cut up a little, might have a bruise on her upper arm where she seems to have fallen on something hard."  
  
"But what made her pass out?" Hunk asked  
  
"Exhaustion, she's been too stressed and working too hard lately. I wonder how much sleep she's been getting?" the doctor sat in a nearby chair.  
  
"As much as any of us I'd say." Pidge shrugged.  
  
Lance shook his head, "Not really, she's been having difficulty sleeping, nightmares and insomnia for the past months."  
  
"She told you about it?" Koran wondered.  
  
"Yeah"  
  
"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Nanny suddenly asked from the doorway to Allura's room.  
  
"She made me promise I wouldn't and I've been making sure she takes it easier in training and stuff - or so I thought." Lance moved over to the doorway, "Can we go in and see her?"  
  
Dr. Gorma nodded, "In just a bit, I want all of you here to bear witness that I'm prescribing some rest for her."  
  
"Wait a minute, if you will doctor." Excusing himself, Lance went down the hall to his room to change and returned within moments, a black folder in one hand, a pen tapping against his leg in the other.  
  
"What're those for?" Hunk asked.  
  
Lance opened the folder and pulled out a typed sheet of paper, "For Dr. Gorma, Nanny, and Koran to sign."   
  
"Sign what?" Koran mumbled as they all moved forward to see the paper, which they all recognized quickly as a contract.  
  
"A contract?" Nanny looked up to the serious expression on Lance's face.  
  
"Allura deserves a break, if only for a short period of time. Dr. Gorma has already said his prescription is rest, that she passed out from exhaustion, I just want to ensure she gets that." Lance set the pen on the paper.  
  
"So you wrote up a contract?" Hunk scratched his head, looking bewildered.  
  
"The contract is for her time away." Lance went on to outline it, "For the next three months Allura stops being a princess- it can be announced as a medical leave of absence and she'll have the option of going away or staying here. She'll be able to dress and act as any other 18 year old can, no restrictions."  
  
"Where would she stay if she decides to go away?" Nanny asked, biting her lip in worry.  
  
"I was thinking about Spretz," Lance answered, "Since that is the city with the highest population and it has been rebuilt the fastest, she'll be able to blend in easily. I'm, sure we can find a place where we'll be able to stay with her, the four of us." He looked at the other members of the team. "We all deserve a break don't you think?"  
  
"Yes but... what if there's an emergency?" Koran read over the contract.  
  
"You'll be given the number to reach us, and Spretz is only a day and a half away by the regular road, even faster if we fly." Lance watched as Koran handed Nanny the paper.  
  
After Dr. Gorma read it, he settled it on the table and smiled at Lance, "This is a fairly extreme measure don't you think?"  
  
"Not after what happened today" Lance replied  
  
"Quite true" Dr Gorma picked up the pen and signed, "Seems you have everything settled, you set out a plan for her expenses, her protection, sounds great."  
  
After hesitating a bit, Koran and Nanny finally signed the paper thanks to Lance's smooth answers to their worries and Dr Gorma's agreeing with him. "This will be good for her and the rest of the team, to get out of the castle and live with the people for a time... I like the way you've handled this young man." the doctor shook hands with Lance respectfully, turning to see Koran finish signing, Nanny biting her lip uncertainly.  
  
"When does it go into effect?" she asked him.  
  
Checking his watch, Lance couldn't hold back his chuckle, "In five minutes" he turned and pointed at the nearby wall clock, which read 11:55.  
  
"Five minutes until her birthday" Nanny shook her head at him, wondering if what they were doing ws the right thing. [Three months away from the castle- a normal girl... this could be trouble.]  
  
Signing the contract himself, Lance turned to the other guys and held out the pen. "I've signed that I'll take responsibility for anything that may happen during this time off, you guys need to sign and accept the vacation time."  
  
"So we're all getting a vacation?" Pidge asked  
  
"Yep" Lance handed out the pen, grinning as they all signed. As the bell struck midnight, Lance smiled and set the contract back in the black folder.   
  
"So is it okay if we go in to see her?" he recieved a nod from Dr. Gorma and entered Allura's room.  
  
***********  
  
Walking over beside the bed, Lance was relieved to see her eyes open, "Hey Allie, how are you doin'?"  
  
Shaking her head, Allura managed a tired smile. "Fine"  
  
"You're not 'Fine', you passed out on the road home. Why didn't you call me for a ride?" Gently rubbing her hands between his, he shivered at how cold hers were.  
  
Allura shrugged, "I wasn't all that tired when I left the house, I thought I could make it home."  
  
"Well next time forget about taking a walk and call me or one of the guys, something could have happened to you out there."  
  
"Like what? someone else could have found me and brought me home?" Allura yawned and rubbed her sleepy eyes.  
  
"Yeah, someone could have found you and taken you to their home, not yours." Lance sighed as he noticed her drooping eyes. "Get some rest princess, we'll talk when you wake up." moving to slip out of her room, he was stopped by a slight squeaze on his arm.  
  
"Can't you stay for a while? I don't want to sleep alone." she pleaded tiredly.  
  
"I'm not sure about this Allie, why don't I call in Nanny and have her sit with you?"   
  
Allura shook her head, "No, I'm kinda scared I'll have a bad dream again, and Nanny's not as soothing as you, please stay?"   
  
"Ok, I'll sit here while you sleep." Lance leaned over her to tuck her into the sheets, and was surprised when she lifted her arms to his neck for a hug.  
  
"Thank you Lance, you're such a sweetheart, even if you don't want the world to know it." she giggled and pulled him down to kiss his cheek.  
  
"You know, I was gonna wait until later to give you this but..." Picking up the folder he'd dropped at the foot of the bed, Lance handed it to her as he turned on a small bedside lamp of hers.  
  
"What is it?" Allura asked, excitement shinning in her not-so-sleepy eyes.  
  
"A birthday gift." Lance grinned as her eyes widened.  
  
"Who told you?" she asked, still not opening the folder.  
  
"A certain grandmother we both know and love" Lance grinned as she sighed.  
  
"I didn't want anything," she told him, opening it and squinting to read the letters, first reading the signatures at the bottom. "You even got Dr. Gorma to sign it? I can't read with this small lamp, what is it?"   
  
Lance grinned and got off the bed to turn on the regular lights. "Its better if you read it yourself."  
  
Allura waited impatiently for the light to come on, then quickly looked down to read the first paragraph.  
  
"... that for the next three months Allura Dannen will be released from her duties as Princess... oh my god" Allura's eyes snapped up to Lance's smile. "What does that mean?! Is this some cruel joke?"  
  
Lance frowned, shaking his head, "No! Its just for some time off for you, be a regular girl like you wanted... you know... have some fun!"  
  
Allura stared at him in awe, looking down at the contract she read it through, her shocked expression dissapearing slowly and a smile taking its place. Finally after reading the whole thing, she sat there smiling softly, tears in her eyes.   
  
"Allie?" Lance asked carefully  
  
Lifting her eyes to his she gave him a beaming smile before jumping into his arms. "OH MY GOD! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THIS!"   
  
Having been knocked back when she threw herself at him, Lance lay sprawled awkwardly with a very happy princess hugging the life out of him. "I can't believe it! I'm so excited, this is the BEST birthday gift ever Lance! Oh my gosh, I Love You! I soo LOVE you!" She squealed happily, kissing his cheek repeatedly before scrambling off him and standing to a side of the bed.  
  
Frowning down at the frilly nightgown Nanny had put on her, she skipped over to a drawer and pulled out another tank top/pants pj set and ran into the bathroom. "Don't go anywhere!" she called over her shoulder.  
  
"Sure thing" Lance grinned, sitting up and setting the contract over on her dresser where it wouldn't get messed up or anything. Walking over to the door, he invited the others in and then went back to the bed laying down on it casually. Keith, Hunk, and Pidge came in followed by Nanny and Koran, Dr. Gorma gone to get some sleep.   
  
Allura came out and beamed at everyone, hugging them all happily. "I'm SO excited! This is the best gift I've ever gotten- I usually can't stand birthdays!"   
  
Thanking Nanny and Koran for their part in it (signing the contract at least) she skipped over to Keith, the only guy who hadn't gone to sit on the bed and pulled him over to join the group. "I'm sorry Nanny and Koran, but would you guys mind if we have a meeting for a bit? We'll go to sleep soon."   
  
Both nodded uncertainly, stepping out and wondering what their plans would be, and how the next three months were going to end.  
  
Still pulling Keith, Allura walked over to the bed and flopped onto it next to where Lance, most signs of fatigue gone from her features, delight the only emotion in her beaming smile. "So we get to leave here and go to Spretz? That sounds like so much fun! I can find us an apartment, for the five of us right? Yeah, that was in the contract. I wonder if I should call... no! I'll call Zeke!"   
  
Allura explained as she crawled over to the opposite side of the bed. "Hold on just a sec until I get him on the line ok? Just sit quietly once he comes on- let me deal with this, I know this guy."  
  
She picked up the phone and dialed a number, impatiently waiting for someone to pick up she put down the reciever and left it on the main speaker. Lucky for her the person was used to late night calls.   
  
"Yeah?" a gruff voice answered  
  
"Hey Zeke" Allura greeted cheerfully.  
  
"Angel cakes?" the voice answered, surprise evident in his tone.  
  
"Uh-huh, how you doin' sugah?" she winked at Lance beside her, smiling at his surprised expression.  
  
"Good, business as usual, you need something? Long time you don't swing by and play." the guy answered.  
  
Allura pouted, "Oh I know Z, I haven't been able to get away- you know my work, can't give it up or anything."  
  
"Yeah, you're doin a damned good job with that too, just left one of your places yesterday." Approval obvious in the speaker's tone.  
  
"Thanks! Glad you approve." Allura rolled onto her back, stretching across the bed.   
  
The guys sat silently around listening quietly. [How in the heck does she know this guy? And what's with the voice?]  
  
A throaty laugh interrupted Keith's thoughts and he was surprised to realize it was Allura laughing at something Zeke said.   
  
"But speaking of places... you wouldn't happen to have any available would you Zeke?" Allura asked sweetly.  
  
"Depends on how many people you want it for." Zeke answered, getting to business quickly, Pidge could hear the rhythmic tapping of what he guessed were computer keys.  
  
"Oh, just a place for five" Allura replied casually  
  
"Five? You got some girls with you? Thought you stopped..."   
  
"I did" she cut off crisply, "I'm goin' on vacation, need a place for a my co-workers, you know who they are."   
  
"Sure thing, you tell them they did a damn good job too." Zeke replied good naturedly.  
  
"I'll be sure to pass that message along Zeke, now about the place...?" Allura twirled some of her hair around a finger absently, suddenly turning and making a face at Lance, making him laugh.  
  
"You got company doll? shoulda introduced us, hey there." Zeke suddenly spoke to Lance.  
  
"Hey" Lance glimpsed at Allura who shrugged before speaking.  
  
"Lance, Zeke, Zeke, Lance- happy?"   
  
"Women" Zeke muttered before chuckling, "So you all on vacation Lance?"  
  
"Yeah, I got us the vacation actually, someone here passing out was finally the last straw..." Lance was abruptly cut off by Zeke's scolding Allura.  
  
"When the hell'd you pass out woman?! You know you gotta watch out for yourself! God damn! Tony's gonna be pissed as all hell when he finds out!" Zeke fumed, the keys stopped clicking suddenly.  
  
"I'm fine Zeke! Even taking a break to get better, but I need ~place~ to spend my vacation!" Allura interrupted pointedly, "And Tony does not find out about that understood?" the tone of her voice making all the men understand how serious she mean that.  
  
"I guess... found you two places, one by the water..."  
  
"In Spretz?" Allura asked, knowing the city was about half an hour away from the nearest beach.  
  
"Nevermind, one place, top two floors, penthouse, music room, study, kitchen on the first with four bedrooms...."  
  
"We need five Z" Allura sighed, rubbing her eyes tired again.  
  
"That's all I've got in Spretz girl- and I need a pair for it." the gruffness returned to Zeke's voice.  
  
"A pair?! Zeke I can't make a pair!" Allura informed him.  
  
"Its all I have in Spretz- must have a pair, owner's a nice old woman, but she wants a pair living in the place and she's a few levels down from you so she'll notice." Zeke declared  
  
"Hmm..." Allura lay there biting her lip hesitantly, glancing at the confused guys around her, she shrugged and smiled at them before answering Zeke.  
  
"If you can get me the false papers, we´ll create the pair." She glanced at Lance nervously, making him suddenly very suspicious.  
  
"You got it doll- make up the names?" Zeke asked  
  
"Doesn´t really matter." Allura fidgeted for a moment while the clicking went on over the line.  
  
"All right, I've got a place for you all set up, the keys will be yours in the afternoon tomorrow, along with your papers and do you need the jewels?" Zeke asked.  
  
"I think I can find some" Allura sighed [Even my 'normal' vacations get complicated!] She smiled softly at Lance, wondering what his reaction would be. [I'm sure he won't mind... I hope]   
  
"Right then, its all set, nice hearing from you Angel, make sure you drop by when you can and go see Tony sometime too." Zeke chuckled.  
  
"I will, thanks Zeke! Talk to ya later!" Allura made a loud kissing sound before hanging up.  
  
"What was that all about?" Keith finally asked.  
  
"I just found us a place to stay," Allura sat up and set her head on Lance's shoulder.  
  
"Sounded pretty mysterious" Lance muttered  
  
"Zeke's part of an underground circle of friends I have, he's a sweetheart" Allura shrugged.  
  
"So we're gone for three months, any plans?" Hunk asked.  
  
"Lots of them, we're gonna enjoy this break you guys." Allura smiled and sat up again, "I know people who can get us into some good parties, we'll go shopping and hang out, make new friends- at least I know for sure you guys will."   
  
"No responsibilities?" Pidge mused.  
  
"Nope, except there is a catch to this, at least for the place Zeke found us." Allura looked at Lance uncertainly.  
  
"Well?" He raised a brow at her expectantly.  
  
"Since there's only four rooms we're gonna need a pair" Allura pouted and kept her eyes on him, "I was thinking you and I could handle it."  
  
"What's a pair?" Keith asked, bothered by her thinking about Lance first. [I'm definitely not gonna like this.]  
  
Allura winced a little and bit her lip, "A couple"   
  
Hunk shrugged, "A couple of...?"  
  
¨Yeah, we could pull that off," Lance replied, "Why would we need papers and jewels for that?"  
  
"Because a pair is a 'married' couple." Allura explained  
  
"Ohhh..." Hunk said, looking at the two sitting side by side and remembering their attitude towards each other as of late. "You two would definitely work."  
  
Lance took a glimpse at Keith, who looked oddly disturbed. [Damn! I know he cares for Allie, but... we are a lot closer than they are and... I dunno, being married to Allie could be fun...]  
  
He was cut off from his thoughts as they kept talking, [I know its bugging him to think of us together!] He got a brief look from Keith and grinned. [Yep]  
  
After a while of planning, Allura interrupted the meeting with a sudden yawn. Seeing how Lance had leaned back against the headboard beside her, she leaned back and lifted his arm around her again. They both stayed like that for a while, talking with the others who were now sprawled across the rest of her large bed comfortably. Pidge on the other side of Allura, aganst the headboard. Hunk had pulled up a chair, but leaned back in it with his feet up on the edge of the bed, and Keith was leaning against a bedpost at the foot of the bed.   
  
Feeling her turn onto her side and drape an arm across him, Lance reminded her that they weren't playing a married couple yet and that they were still in the castle.   
  
"Who cares? I'm not a princess now remember? Any girl can take a nap with her best friends around- no big deal." Allura started to pull back, "But if you wanna go, I'll see you in the morning k-? I'm suddenly *yawn* really sleepy again."   
  
Tightening his arm around her, Lance declined the offer and settled her more comfortably against him. "So we're pretty much set now right you guys?"   
  
Hunk and Keith nodded, Pidge had fallen asleep a while ago beside Allura. The remaining three talked until Lance fell asleep and Keith followed suit soon after, Hunk was the last to fall asleep, sitting on his chair by the bed.  
  
- Later on that morning -  
  
Nanny was shocked to enter the princess' room and find her sleeping on the bed, surrounded by men. With her her head on a pillow beside Pidge's, Lance lay wrapped around her, one hand over her head, the other across her stomach, his left leg between both of hers. Keith lay across the foot of the bed, and Hunk sat on a chair with his upper body laying forward on the bed.   
  
***********  
  
Well? What do you think? I hope the chapter's not too bad- next one includes Allura moving with the guys into the city- where we start so see a whole new side to the polite and proper princess.   
  
-- Don't forget to Review!  
  
  
~ K.C. ~ 


	5. Weddings and Threshholds

Title: Friendship  
  
Author: KawaiiChica  
  
E-mail: KawaiiChica@tuxedomask.com  
  
Rating: PG-13   
  
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never will be. Want my own Lance but its not happening.  
  
Author's Notes: New characters and I'm sorry for any changes I've made to the Voltron storyline - I did say its been a long time since I see this show so I'm not sure about how well it fits in the Voltron universe. (And on a more personal note: I changed E-mail addresses - my old server was closing down its free members services)  
  
" " Speaking  
[ ] Thoughts  
  
***********   
  
"Oh My Lord, Princess!" Nanny yelled as she headed over to the bed and fluttered about, waking up the occupants. "You four get out of here this instant! I can't believe the indecency! Och Princess, how could you?"   
  
"How could I what?" Allura yawned as she lifted her head to see Hunk and Keith getting up.  
  
Beside her, Pidge was stretching out, Lance groaned behind her and turned his head into his pillow.   
  
"Sleep with all these men around you! Its most innapropriate, how can we let you spend three months with them when things like this go on here in the castle?!" Nanny yanked Pidge out of bed as she scolded Allura.  
  
"Hey! That's not fair! Nothing happened here! We were talking and making plans and all just kind of drifted off at some point. It wasn't planned, and I didn't do anything innapropriate!" Allura sat up and glared. "Besides, you can't change your mind, thanks to Lance's contract I have three months off and I plan on enjoying them!" she huffed and lay back down, turning her back to Nanny. "I'm starting my vacation with a late morning, I'll get up later."   
  
Pidge shrugged at the stunned Nanny and followed Keith and Hunk out of the room, heading towards their own to shower and change. Lance got up too and informed her that he was gonna go get ready, "You get some more sleep though, we'll leave when you want."   
  
"Thanks" she yawned and fell asleep again, moving to where he'd been in the bed. [Smells like him] she smiled and drifted off.  
  
"Was that all that happened?" Nanny asked Lance as the door closed behind them.  
  
"Yes that's all that happened, nothing more, nothing less." He bowed curtly, excusing himself to his room. [So... I wonder how we're gonna pull of being married? Maybe that wasn't such a good idea.]  
  
***********  
  
"Allura you ready yet?" Keith asked from outside her room.  
  
"Almost!"   
  
"There's someone here who claims to know you." He could guess where the guy knew her from. [Probably one of those 'underground' friends she talked about last night, like that other one, Zeke]  
  
Allura's door opened and she stepped out, pulling her hair up into a ponytail. "Really? What's he look like? Did he give a name?"   
  
Keith shrugged, "I don't know, I was just told to inform you."   
  
"Ok thanks, my bag was taken down earlier." She lowered her hands from her hair and took his arm.  
  
On their way downstairs Allura started telling him of her plans for the vacation until they reached the staircase.  
  
"Tony!" she yelled, quickly running down to where her friend stood.  
  
"Allura!" he cheered and raced up to meet her halfay, nearly falling back as she threw herself into his arms.  
  
"I'm so glad to see you! Zeke didn't tell me you'd be dropping off the stuff!" Allura hugged him tight.  
  
"I need to breathe sweetheart" Tony released her and stepped away to look her over, "Wow... when did my girl grow up?"   
  
Allura grinned and shrugged, "Time will do that to ya, what do you think?" She turned for him in a slow circle.  
  
Wearing tight, hip-hugging blue jeans, black boots, a simple black tanktop and her hair up, she looked really good. Casual but nice, and -very- hot.   
  
Tony whistled and gave her a lopsided grin, "I think we might have to stop with our regular greetings."  
  
"Hmph! Don't be stupid," Allura rolled her eyes and stepped over, grabbing his chin in one hand, she quickly pulled his head down for a peck on the lips. "See? No harm done" she winked and slid her hand down to his jacket pocket, sliding her hands in to search.  
  
"So'd you bring our stuff?"   
  
Chuckling, Tony caught her roaming hands in one of his and shook his head at her, "Ever the impatient one eh? I'm here to take you to your new place- after I meet your guys."  
  
"Oh yeah" Allura bit her lip and finally acknowledged their audience as she found Lance behind her leaning on the railing.  
  
Both men looked each other over briefly before shaking hands. "Tony this is Lance, Lance meet Tony, the one I told you about before."  
  
"Nice to meet you" Tony greeted.  
  
"Likewise, I've heard quite a few stories about you" Lance replied with a casual smile.  
  
Allura then proceeded to introduce him to the others and to Nanny and Koran who had come down to see them off. "How do you know the princess?" Nanny aksed.  
  
"He was her guardian for a time" Koran answered for Tony, "King Alfor sent her to you at the beginning of the war, if I remember correctly." he looked over the man holding Allura around the waist.  
  
"Yes, I had the pleasure of watching over this little imp for about half a year." He smiled and turned to Allura. "We need to talk a bit about the details of your trip."   
  
Noting the serious tone of his voice, Allura agreed and motioned for the guys to enter a small parlor nearby. "We'll call you when we're leaving" she told Nanny and Koran before entering and closing the door behind her.  
  
Keith and Lance sat on opposite sides of the sofa, Hunk stood by a table, Pidge and Tony had taken a seat on the small sofa across from the others. Allura moved over and sat between Lance and Keith.   
  
Tony spoke up, "So the main deal is that the woman who owns the building is really picky about her tennants. She only takes married couples and families but made an exception for Zeke. She trusts him, thanks to his finding tennants for her from time to time. A recommmendation from him is always good for her so she accepted your group. Just watch out for her snooping around sometimes, I´ve heard she´s kind of a busy-body."  
  
"Great" Lance mumbled  
  
"You sure you'll be able to pull off being a married couple? Because you´re going to have to take this marriage seriously. For starters, here are your rings," Tony pulled a small black jewelry box from his inner jacket pocket.   
  
"Ok" Lance leaned forward and took the box from him, opening it to find three rings. The first was a stunning, solitaire diamond on a platinum band. Then two more platinum bands, identical save for the sizes.   
  
"Three rings?" Keith asked, holding Allura's right hand.  
  
"The engagement ring, and two wedding bands." Tony explained as he took the box from Lance and handed him the diamond solitaire.   
  
"I don't have to wear that right?" Lance asked jokingly.  
  
"No! I'm giving it to you to put on her hand. If she's gonna be your wife for the next three months, you should be the one to put it on her." Tony sighed  
  
"But just in pretend right?" Allura clarified  
  
"Do we have to start over?" Tony glared  
  
"No" Allura giggled but turned serious as Lance took hold of her hand.   
  
Slipping the ring on her finger, Lance felt a tinge of possessiveness and had to mentally berate himself for feeling so. [This is just for a little while Lance, don't be stupid and start believing it could be real.] With a quick look around at the others who were watching intently, he took the second ring, and slipped it on after the other.   
  
Allura couldn't help but blush as he slid the rings on. Then as the box was turned in her direction, she had to let go of Keith's hand, which she hadn't noticed tighten on hers earlier. She took the ring and slid it onto Lance's ring finger.  
  
"Woah, that feels so weird" Lance said, lifting his hand to look at it. [I'm married]   
  
"For a while," Tony laughed, making him realize he'd said it aloud too.   
  
Allura sat giggling at his awed tone and looking down at her own hand. Her giggling stopped as Tony pulled out the marriage license dated back to a month earlier. "You have to sign this and we're stopping by Zeke's to take some pictures on the way."  
  
"Pictures?" Hunk asked, pulling over a chair to sit.  
  
"So we can edit them into wedding pictures you can put up at the place you'll be living in. We'll also be making some other types of pictures. Some of you guys at a picnic, at a party, whatever backgrounds you guys want, Zeke can make." Tony pulled out a couple pairs of keys.   
  
"Your cars, a blue sports car, fully loaded with a new sound system and alarm. A black one, different make, also fully loaded. The blue is a four door, the black a two door, and there will be another two at the place when we arrive."   
  
"Cool for you guys" Pidge huffed as he heard there were four cars only.   
  
"You too since I plan on taking my bike" Lance told him  
  
"Really?" Pidge's eyes lit up  
  
"You can have the smallest car, its an older version and not too fast" Tony added  
  
"Hey, a car's a car!" Pidge grinned  
  
"So can we go now?" Allura moved forward, about to stand.  
  
Tony's next question stunned her into staying where she was, "Have you two slept together yet?"  
  
Hunk, who had brought a water bottle with him and was taking a sip, choked and required Keith to stand and whack him on the back a couple times to catch his breath. "Thanks" he finally managed, looking back at the two on the sofa.  
  
Allura sat back against Lance, who´s arm was still draped over. "We have in the way I've slept with you" Allura told Tony.  
  
"So you would have no problems sharing a bed?" He asked  
  
"No" Lance shrugged  
  
"And you would have no problems holding hands and snuggling in public?" Tony continued  
  
"Some peole have trouble snuggling?" Lance raised an eyebrow, Allura laughed and shook her head 'no'.   
  
"You'll have to kiss too" Tony reminded them.  
  
The room's other occupants got even quieter, if it were possible. Lance and Allura froze momentarily.  
  
Allura bit her lip uncertainly, Lance unkowingly following her example. "Because you will have to kiss and snuggle and be lovey-dovey for at least the first month." Tony explained, "Newly weds are usually like that."  
  
After a moment of careful thought, Allura broke the silence. "I wouldn't mind kissing Lance"   
  
Lance nodded, "I wouldn't mind kissing Allie." He couldn´t help noticing Keith's growing discomfort.   
  
"Let's just make sure you can - go ahead" Tony leaned back with a grin.  
  
"Go ahead what?" Allura asked, guessing 'what' by his look.  
  
"Kiss" Tony answered with the grin still on his face.  
  
"O... k..." Allura turned to Lance, with a quick smile him, she moved a hand to cup his face and pressed her lips to his. She felt goosebumps on her arms as Lance lifted a hand to the back of her neck and returned the kiss briefly before pulling away. They stared at each other for a second before flushing and turning to their audience. Each confused about their emotions during the brief kiss.  
  
"Good enough for a hello and good-bye, but you are gonna have to do better real soon if you're going to be acting as lovers." Tony's watch beeped and he stood. "And my stall time's over so we should get going now."  
  
"Lovers?" Allura turned and asked, suddenly a bit dazed by how quickly things were moving - not to mention the idea of kissing Lance again, perhaps a bit more passionately, and the word Tony had just used to describe their relationship.   
  
"Yes, lovers, most married couples are intimate in that sense." Tony gave them a warning look , "Notice, however, that I said 'most' married couples and you will not be one of them." he gave Allura an extra look.   
  
Allura sighed and was about to follow as they all walked out, but Lance's hand on her wrist stopped her. "Hey, you sure you don't mind..."  
  
"No, do..." Allua started  
  
"No, I just realized this may be a bit awkward is all." Lance stood and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.   
  
"A little weird yeah, but... I don't think it'll be awkward. We're good friends who have to pretend to be lovers for a bit, we can do it right?" Allura looked up to him.  
  
"Right... its just that I hadn't thought of this as pretending to be 'lovers,'" Lance sighed as they headed towards the door.  
  
Allura bit her lip and went along silently. [Neither had I]  
  
***********  
  
"I'll follow you on my motorcycle" Lance called out as they split up into the cars.  
  
Allura and Tony were being left alone in the smaller black one, Keith, Pidge, and Hunk taking the blue. "Ok that's fine!" Allura hopped in while Tony closed the door for her.  
  
"You'll all just have to follow me, I know a back road that'll cut the distance a lot." Tony walked around and got into the driver's seat.  
  
They drove out in silence for a good fifteen minutes before Tony broke the mood. "So you're doing well from the looks of things."   
  
"Yeah we've made a lot of progress since the end of the war." Allura smiled as she thought of all the building that had been going on.  
  
"And you've got an interesting little triangle going there" He grinned and glanced into the rearview mirror where he could see the car and motorcycle.  
  
"Triangle?"   
  
"Oh you know, one girl with two guys" Tony shrugged and smiled at her, "You really prefer the one you've got?"  
  
Allura flushed and shook her head, "Its not like that Tony, Keith and Lance are just friends. Lance has been hanging out with me a lot and keeping me company on many sleepless nights lately." twisting her rings on her finger, she sighed. "We're just good friends"  
  
¨Mhmm... right.¨ Tony grinned and she quickly changed the subject.   
  
"So how is Liz?"   
  
Tony beamed, "Good! Very happy with her part in my work and even happier now that she's on her way to becoming a mother."  
  
Allura's face lit up, "Oh my gosh! You're going to be a father?! Congratulations Tony!" Leaning over, she wrapped her arms around his shoulder and kissed his cheek affectionately.   
  
"Thank you baby, its good to know you're rooting for us." He moved a hand from the steering wheel to her waist in a way of returning her hug.  
  
"Of course I am Tony! You and Liz were so good to me, and you've been watching out for me even though you think I don't know its you." she giggled and rested her head on his shoulder.   
  
"Someone's gotta keep an eye on you, or you'd be fainting even more often" He heard her gulp and tightened his hold on her waist. "And no, Zeke didn't tell me you fainted, he wasn't alone in the room when you called and his company decided to inform me, which I would've found out from someone in the palace anways."  
  
Allura sighed, "Should've realized you'd have people at the castle."  
  
"I thought you did" Tony stroked her side tenderly  
  
"I'll remember that when I get back" she yawned and asked, "How will you be keeping track of me at the apartment?"  
  
"I´m good friends with the owner, not to mention I live two stories down from you."   
  
"Really? That´s great! I get to hang out with Liz again." Allura grinned and lay her head on his shoulder.  
  
"She´s excited about that too¨ Tony kissed the top of her head as she yawned again and slid his hand away, "You lay the seat back and get some rest."  
  
"Wait, just one thing, this will be a real vacation? We won´t be working at all?" Allura asked  
  
¨Nope, no official work at least. You´ve got a lot of money saved up so you won´t need to worrry about that and we all want you to relax.¨ Tony turned at a fork in the road, "Almost forgot to make that stop at Zeke's"   
  
"Oh yeah" Allura had been moving her seat back, but lifted it as she recognized the path.  
  
[This is gonna be so great] Recognizing the driveway to Zeke´s cabin, Allura smiled and cheered. "Yay! I get to see Zeke!"   
  
Tony chuckled at her cute enthusiasm, [That's my girl]  
  
He pulled up to the cabin and shut off the engine, getting out a little bit after Allura, who was quickly running up the stairs. Zeke had been expecting them and sat on his favorite chair on the porch until Allura ran up.  
  
"Zeke!" she ran up and threw her arms around him in a big hug.  
  
"Angel!" Zeke hugged her back and spun her around for a moment before setting her down and looking her over. "When'd you get so big?"   
  
Allura struck a thoughtful pose, "Sometime in those three years since I last saw you."  
  
"Glad to see you looking so good" Zeke grinned and turned to their arriving guests.   
  
"Welcome everyone!" Tugging Allura along, he went down the steps to the guys coming over.   
  
During their introductions another person stepped out of the cabin and stayed back, watching Allura carefully. [She looks really good... I can´t believe I was such an idiot] He realized he'd been spotted when Allura's name was repeated in a louder tone and he saw her eyes were stuck on him. [Oh great]  
  
Zeke called him down and explained who he was to the others. "This is my nephew, Devon. He's just here on a quick visit."   
  
The guys nodded and introduced themselves, each shaking hands with him before he stopped in front of Allura.  
  
Her cheerful expression had dissapeared quickly and she greeted the stranger with an almost icy tone, "Hello Devon"  
  
He moved to lift her hand, but she stepped back so he merely replied "Hello Allura"  
  
"This is an unexpected surprise" she said, moving closer to Keith, who happened to be the one closest to her.  
  
"On your part, I knew I'd be seeing you again since last night." he saw her nod and sweep her eyes over him.  
  
Allura struggled to keep her composure, "You look well"   
  
"Looks can be decieving" he shrugged, realizing his mistake as her attitude grew colder.  
  
"Yes, I believe I learned that last time we met," she replied and turned her back to him, walking over to where Tony was talking to a couple of the guys, one of them smiled as she stood by him and took him by the hand. [Ah... So's he's to play the part of her husband]   
  
He was interrupted again by Zeke calling him over and telling him about the youngest one's computer knowledge. [Pidge - don't forget their names] he reminded himself. After the intro's were over with, they headed inside to get their business done and on their way.   
  
The photos didn´t take too long, despite Allura and Pidge having a field day picking out backgrounds, settings, story ideas and poses. Not to mention the costumes recquired for some of them. Allura giggled as the guys had to dress like barbers and blushed profusely when she had to dress like an old-style hooker, for a picture of what was going to be her 'first date' with Lance at a fair. She also had a nasty fight with Tony over the costume, but he managed to get her to wear it. She seemed full of energy and enthusiasm during most of the shoot, until they moved onto the wedding pictures.   
  
"I have a dress that'll be just the thing for you" Zeke winked and led her over to her dressing area and pointing to a dress he'd covered with others.   
  
"Thanks" she stepped in and changed.   
  
"You ready yet?" Zeke asked after fifteen minutes of waiting for her.  
  
"Yeah, go ahead, I'll catch up" Allura replied, her voice waivering a bit.   
  
All the guys noticed her waiver, but only three moved to find out what was wrong. Keith, Lance, and Tony, although Hunk noticed Devon clench his hands and step back oddly. [Wonder what's up with them? I'd never heard Allura talk to someone the way she does to him, and they've been so cold this whole time.]  
  
Noticing Lance was going, Tony stepped back and turned to the others, with a shrug he led them out to where the backgrounds were in the room next door. Keith and Devon both looked over their shoulders before leaving.   
  
Hearing the door click shut, Allura sighed and came out of the dressing area, surprised to find she hadn't been left alone. Noticing her teary eyes, Lance moved closer and wiped away a tear as it fell.   
  
"What is it Allie? Something wrong?" his voice soft and soothing.  
  
Allura shook her head, smiling sadly up at his worried eyes. "Its nothing"  
  
"No its not, you don't cry over nothing"   
  
Shrugging, she looked down at herself and her left hand. "I just felt really... sad suddenly"   
  
"Why? About what?" Lance kept his hand cupping her face, his other playing with a loose curl of her hair.  
  
Allura's eyes watered again, "This fake wedding... its just... " turning toward a mirror her chin wavered. "Look at me! I'm never gonna have this for real!"   
  
Lance sighed and stepped over behind her so they could both be seen in the mirror. He was looking at her, reminding himself this was a fake marriage. Her dress was simple, V-neck with a fair amount of cleavage but not too much, the skirt falling to about mid thigh, white stockings and heels, a sparkling tiara holding her wavy hair back beneath a sparkly veil attached to it. She looked stunning. "Don't talk like that Allie, you'll find someone."   
  
Allura shook her head, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand, "Not like this, like a normal bride... I'm gonna have a coronation at my real wedding and have to wear another stupid poofy dress and... and..."   
  
"And?" Lance sighed and moved his arms to pull her back against him in a comforting hug, pulling a handkerchief out of his tux pocket to wipe her eyes with.  
  
"And I won't get to choose my husband like most brides either. Koran has already informed the council to start searching for suitable candidates, can you believe that? Like he was hiring for some job position or something!" Allura leaned back and gulped as he squeazed her tight. ¨I´ll be lucky if my husband even likes me, forget about loving me.¨  
  
"What are you talking about? How could he not love you? You´re the most amazing woman I´ve ever met Allie. Strong and independent, but also sweet and caring. You´re compassionate and loving, not to mention extremely attentive towards those you care about. He´ll think himself the luckiest man alive, and he will be."  
  
"You really think so?" Allura smiled softly at him in the mirror and turned in his arms to hug him. ¨Oh Lance, I hope you´re right, because I know I´m not the paragon you just described.¨ she pulled back smiling more easily now. "I´m sorry I got bummed out, and thank you for cheering me up."  
  
Lance looked down uncertainly, "Anytime Allie, are you sure you´re ok?¨  
  
¨Yes, I´m ok now¨ she sighed and leaned into him a bit.  
  
¨Good, then we'd better get out there."  
  
***********  
  
The wedding pictures came out well, Allura and Lance had to kiss quite a few times, Tony silently noticing Keith and Devon gritting their teeth, clenching their fists or turning whenever they did. The shoot ended around seven at night and they said their farewells to Zeke and Devon, whom they found out would be living in the city near them.   
  
On the way to Spretz, Tony drove Lance´s motorcycle, Lance and Allura took the black car and the guys took the blue one again. Tony explained that it would look weird if the newlyweds didn´t arrive in the same car, which everyone agreed to.   
  
Arriving at the building, Lance opened Allura´s door and wrapped an arm around her waist on the way in. The others had agreed to let them enter first and the guys would follow soon. The owner, Mrs. Wintro, a widow of ten years and hopeless romantic, welcomed them enthusiastically and quickly had Lance sign the paperwork while handing Allura the keys.   
  
¨This way¨ she led them to the elevators and explained about the building´s policies and such on the way up to the penthouse. ¨No wild parties, although gatherings are fine as long as they don´t disturb the other tennants.¨ the elevator doors opened and she stepped out into a small hallway leading to the apartment´s large, glass doors.   
  
¨And here you are, your new home¨ she watched as Lance took the keys from Allura and stepped forward to unlock the doors. Opening them just a bit, Lance tucked the keys in his pocket and turned to Allura with a charming smile.  
  
¨I hope you don´t mind, but there´s a tradition I´ve heard of and always wanted to try¨ without waiting for a reply, he stepped forward and lifted Allura in ´princess fashion.´   
  
¨Oh!¨ Allura gasped and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding her breath as he carefully opened the doors with his foot and carried her over the threshhold into the aparmtent.   
  
Stopping in the middle of the entryway, he let go of her legs, but kept his arm on her back and was surprised when she turned into his chest and gave him a beaming smile, her arms tightening about his neck. ¨Oh honey, that was so sweet!¨ she leaned up against him and pulled his head down to hers for a kiss.  
  
Hearing Mrs. Wintro sigh dreamily by the doorway, Lance tightened his arm around her back and lifted his free arm to cup the back of Allura´s neck. Deepening the kiss, he inwardly smiled as he felt her shiver and pulled her closer. The kiss ended after the elevator doors opened and the click of a camera, followed by a flash of light and Pidge´s voice reached them.   
  
¨Now -that- is a kiss!¨   
  
***********  
  
The end for now.  
  
I hope this chapter was ok and not too bad. I'm sorry if any of the guys are OOC. I don't remember much about the original Voltron so I might be changing stuff about their pasts and stuff. (Like- was Keith a Terran? I thought he was, and that Terra was Earth right?)   
  
Don´t forget to Review! (And if you want to tell me who you´d prefer Allura to end up with in your review that´d be great - I´d really like to know who you guys like more) Thanks!  
  
  
~ K. C. ~ 


	6. Angel Eyes

Title: Friendship  
  
Author: KawaiiChica  
  
E-mail: KawaiiChica@Tuxedomask.com  
  
Rating: PG-13 (for now)  
  
Summary: Allura and Lance have gotten real chummy, why does it bother Keith? And what would happen if Allura was given time off from being a Princess?  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never will be. Want my own Lance but its not happening.   
  
A.N.: Sorry for the wait, I just moved to Arizona from Florida so I´m gettig adjusted I´ll post the next chapter as soon as I can.  
  
" " Speaking  
[] Thoughts  
  
***********   
  
  
Lance ended the kiss but kept Allura in his arms as he turned to the doorway where the guys now stood beside Mrs. Winthrop. Tony looked pleased, Hunk and Pidge were just smiling, the latter holding a camera, and Keith remained impassive, although Lance read the anger in his taught expression. ¨Hey! You guys made it tonight!¨  
  
Leading Allura over, he introduced Mrs. Winthrop to the others calmly, using the lie Zeke had made up. ¨May I present my cousins, Keith and Pidge, and our friend Hunk. If I remember correctly you, had agreed on them living with us?¨   
  
¨But of course, I´m dreadfully sorry to hear you´re so sick Mrs. Chamberlain.¨ she smiled kindly at Allura, ¨Although I might say you look quite well.¨  
  
Allura nodded, ¨Time away from the city always does my health a lot of good, we´re hoping my improvement will not be temporary.¨  
  
¨Yes, yes, certainly, I know how difficult it is when dealing with such sicknesses. My son died of malenocytosis at the age of eighteen.¨ Mrs. Winthrop sighed before quickly smiling and excusing herself. ¨Excuse my sudden departure, I would love to show you all the apartment myself, but I really must be going or Helen will be worried.¨   
  
¨Thank you Mrs. Winthrop, we´ll see you tomorrow!¨ Allura walked her to the elevator and sighed in relief as the doors closed.   
  
Turning back to the apartment she was surprised to find Keith and Tony waiting for her still. ¨You´re not going in to check the place over?¨ she asked as she came over and closed the doors behind her.  
  
¨Just waiting for you¨ Tony shrugged, curiosity obvious in his eyes.  
  
¨Oh you should have seen it Tony! Lance was SO great!¨ Allura smiled and grabbed hold of their arms, pulling them into the entryway again.  
  
¨He actually swept me off my feet and carried me over the threshhold!¨ Allura giggled and blushed, ¨I know it was probably for Mrs. Winthrop´s benefit but it was still incredibly romantic.¨   
  
¨Ah... and so the kiss was just for her benefit?¨ Tony asked.  
  
¨Uh... mostly for her benefit, yep, and partially as a thank you, I dunno¨ Allura shrugged and let them go as Pidge and Lance called her name from the room they´d entered.  
  
¨Yes?¨ she followed Hunk in, leaving Keith and Tony in the living room.   
  
¨I need to go, but I´ll be coming back in about an hour to take you guys out.¨ Tony said after checking his watch. ¨There are some clothes in the closets for you all to choose from. My wife wants to celebrate Allura´s birthday.¨   
  
¨Any idea where we´re going?¨ Keith asked  
  
Tony shrugged, ¨Wherever Allura wants to go, its her choice.¨   
  
¨Sounds good¨ Keith nodded  
  
¨Anyways, I´ve got to go pick up Liz and check some stuff before going out so I´d better go.¨ Tony explained as Keith escorted him to the door.  
  
¨See you in a bit¨ Keith watched the elevator close before shutting the apartment doors.   
Walking back into the entryway, he was surprised to find Allura looking for him. ¨Come on Keith, let´s go check out upstairs. Down here there´s a music room a little beyond the living room and the kitchen and dinning room. The study is on that side and that´s all.¨ she took his hand and led the way upstairs.   
  
¨I guess I´ll see them later¨ he laughed and followed, stopping beside her at the top of the stairs. There were two hallways on either side of the small room they stood in, one shorter than the other. The room in which they stood was richly decorated in bright colors, with a red sofa, two comfortable armchairs (also red) a blue rug underneath the wooden table, yellow pillows on the sofa and armchairs, and a large television set with a surround sound stereo system facing towards them. ¨Which way?¨  
  
¨I don´t know, you pick¨ she examined a painting as she spoke.  
  
¨Lets go left then,¨ he moved forward and pulled her towards the longer hallway. They quickly looked over the three bedrooms and the bathroom. One of the rooms was decorated perfectly for Pidge, with dark green walls and a futuristic silver bedroom set, trendy lamps, and a brand new computer. ¨Definitely for Pidge¨ they both agreed.  
  
The other two rooms were more conservative, and both were fashionably set up. One had a black metal bedroom set, the other a light sandalwood set. The one with the sandalwood furnishings included a small set of weights, the other a model plane collection - differentiating which was for whom. ¨How´d they know I like model planes?¨ Keith asked her as they exited his room.  
  
¨Tony has people watching out for me at the castle, he must have called and found out what your guys´ likes are to help with the decorating. I think that´s why he said his stall time was over back at the castle.¨ Allura checked out the bathroom, adequate for the three guys, and stepped down the hallway towards the TV room.  
  
¨And now to the other hallway¨ she led the way, smiling as the guys reached the top of the stairs. ¨Hey you´re just in time¨ she motioned for Lance to accompany them, ¨Your rooms are down the longer hallway, I´m sure you´ll know which is yours.¨   
  
¨Ok great, we´ll check them out later.¨ Pidge and Hunk joined them as they stopped at the double doors at the end of the small hallway.   
  
¨Al right, and I guess this is our room¨ Allura smiled at Lance before opening the doors.  
  
The first thing in sight was the enormous four post bed. Made out of a deep mahogany wood, the thin white curtians tied to the posts stood out well against the wood. The comforter was also white, along with the many pillows piled against the headboard.   
  
¨Wow¨ Hunk said as he entered, looking around at the elegant furnishings.  
  
The whole room was dark mahogany and white. A medium sized dresser stood to the left of the doors, a framed mirror hung above it. To the right there was a desk and a set of glass doors leading to the balcony, which overlooked a large park across the street. On either side of the bed there was a door, upon further investigation they saw the one on the right was a walk in closet, the other was their large bathroom.  
  
¨This is gorgeous¨ Lance mumbled as he inspected the bathroom. With dual sinks, a mirror that extended across one wall and a separate shower and tub, the bathroom was pretty big and comfortable, with a door opening into the closet.   
  
¨Hey and your bathtub has the jacuzzi installments.¨ Pidge exclaimed  
  
¨How neat! I always wanted one of those.¨ Allura smiled and stepped out into the bedroom, climbing onto the bed.   
  
¨Who gets what side?¨ Keith asked, leaning against the post beside her head.  
  
Lance stepped out from the closet just then, ¨Allie gets the bathroom side, I get the closet.¨  
  
¨You sure Allura doesn´t want the closet side?¨ Keith asked him.  
  
¨Yep¨ Lance sat down on his side of the bed, leaning against the pile of pillows.  
  
¨He´s right Keith, I don´t like sleeping too close to the closet, I´d rather be by the bathroom.¨ Allura yawned, checking the clock beside her head on the nightstand, she realized it was barely nine thirty. [I wonder what Maru´s up to?]  
  
Realizing she hadn´t told Maru about her vacation, Allura sat up suddenly and crawled over to the other side of the bed, stretching over Lance to grab the phone on his nightstand.  
  
¨Who´re you calling?¨ he asked  
  
¨Maru, I forgot to tell her about the trip and that I won´t be coming over for a while.¨ Allura quickly dialed her number. ¨Hey you! Sorry I didn´t come over or call earlier but I had a really busy day.¨   
  
Listening for a few moments, Allura then started explaining about her time off, waving to the guys as they all decided to leave her alone to talk in peace. A few minutes after they had looked over the other rooms and sat down in their newly appointed ´movie room´ at the top of the stairs, Allura came out of her room, smiling and rolling her eyes at sometihng Maru said. ¨Uh huh? And so... good, they make a cute couple.¨   
  
She suddenly blushed and hurried down, ¨See? I knew I shouldn´t have told about that!... Why? Because I knew you´d say something, you´ve only been bugging me for the past four months!¨   
  
The guys exchanged looks before shrugging and making plans for the next day. ¨We´re going to need some more clothes, I don´t know about you guys but I know I didn´t really have much casual stuff to bring.¨ Keith said, suddenly remembering what Tony had said.  
  
¨And we should go check our closets and change into something appropriate for going out. Tony said they´d be back in about an hour to take us celebrating.¨ He stood as he spoke and headed over to his room.  
  
¨I´m sure Allie will be glad to go out tonight.¨ Lance stood and headed over to the kitchen with Pidge. ¨You guys want anything from downstairs?¨  
  
¨Something to drink¨ Keith said  
  
¨Nothing for me, I´m gonna go change¨ Hunk said, already halfway to his room.   
  
Pidge followed Lance downstairs to the kitchen, stopping as Allura came out smiling brightly. ¨I´m seriously so jealous! Congratulations Maru!¨ Covering the reciever with her hand she explained that Maru´s boyfriend had proposed to her.   
  
¨Hey that´s great! Congratulate her for me.¨ Lance spoke loudly so as to be heard ¨Tony said we´re going out tonight so change.¨   
  
Allura nodded, ¨Sorry Mar, I´ve gotta get going, I´ll call you later and give you my phone number once I get it... ok, say hi to Oma and Padme... all right, bye.¨   
  
¨Just came for some drinks¨ Pidge smiled and headed in. Opening the fridge, he glad to see it was fully stocked. ¨Man Allie, those friends of yours are great, they took care of everything!¨   
  
¨Yeah, they´re the best.¨ Allura laughed and excused herself to her room. ¨I´d better hurry upstairs if I´m gonna be ready, how long did he say he´d be?¨   
  
¨About an hour.¨ Lance remembered.  
  
¨That´s barely enough time to fix my hair!¨ Allura sighed and hurried upstairs.  
  
Pidge pulled out their sodas and handed Lance his, ¨Who would have guessed we´d be vacationing with the princess?¨   
  
¨Not me, but I´m glad for this time with her.¨ Lance took another drink upstairs, followed closely by Pidge.  
  
Pidge nodded, ¨Yeah, mee too.¨   
  
[I wonder where we´re going?] Lance thought as he headed to Keith´s room to drop off his drink.  
  
***********  
  
Tony arrived almost exactly an hour after he left, accompanied by his wife Liz, Devon, and another guy.   
  
¨Ken, you´ve heard of the voltron force. Guys this is another good friend of Allie´s.¨ Tony introduced him.  
  
¨Nice to meet you all¨ Ken shook their hands, noticing how they looked him over carefully.  
  
Standing at a decent 5´10¨ with strange violet eyes, long red hair held back in a loose pony tail, and an overall active physique, Ken made a good impression on them all. His cheerfulness and friendly politeness helped greatly as well.   
  
The guys greeted Devon, and were instantly at ease with Liz, who also had a very cheerful and open demeanor. Dressed in all black, jean pants, black boots, and a closed leather jacket, she stood at an aproximate 5´7¨ with hazel eyes and auburn hair. Her face was quite pretty, long lashes framed her sparkling eyes, pouty lips, and a dimple in her right cheek when she smiled. She teased Ken as he kept glancing up the stairs to where Allura was finishing getting ready.   
  
¨Its been a while since I´ve seen her, of course I´m excited!¨ he admitted.  
  
¨If I recall, you were also quite taken with the little one¨ Liz reminded him  
  
¨Who wasn´t?¨ Devon asked  
  
¨True, I´m going up to see her, I can´t wait anymore¨ Liz moved towards the stairs.  
  
¨No need, I´m ready¨ Allura announced from the top as she walked down to where the group waited, she smiled brightly at the sight of Liz and hurried down to hug her.  
  
¨I´m so glad to see you again!¨ they hugged and laughed as they greeted each other.  
  
¨My how you´ve grown! You can´t be the baby anymore¨ Liz pulled back to look her over.  
  
Allura stood dressed similarly to Liz, except her pants were leather as well as her jacket. Despite her hair being held up in a high ponytail, it still fell in loose waves down her back. Her make up was appropriate for nightlife, sparkling dark blue eyeshadow, bringing out her eyes, sparkly blush, and deep red lips. Tony cleared his throat and gave her a look.  
  
Sighing and rolling her eyes, Allura opened her jacket a bit to show a bright blue t-shirt beneath it. ¨Ok?¨   
  
¨Fine¨ he smiled  
  
Shaking her head, Allura suddenly froze as she spotted Ken and slowly shook her head. ¨Tell me you see him too¨ she whispered to Liz.  
  
¨Of course I do!¨ Liz laughed  
  
Ken came over and smiled at her, ¨Hey you¨   
  
Allura gulped and shook her head, her eyes tearing up, ¨No, I have to be seeing things, Ken´s dead.¨  
  
¨Oro??¨ Ken asked, bemused before a look of understanding came into his eyes. ¨Who told you?¨   
  
¨I heard... your broadcast and the... the explosion and...¨ Allura stared, hands clasped in front of her and struggling not to cry.   
  
¨Oh my poor love!¨ Ken smiled softly and pulled her in for a tight hug, ¨I had to fake my death that time to join the special forces. I wasn´t allowed under my real name, no one is, but I couldn´t just dissapear. You weren´t supposed to hear that.¨ he chuckled sadly.  
  
Allura stood frozen in his arms thinking for a moment when suddenly her arm pulled back and swung hard into his stomach, doubling him in half as his breath was knocked out. ¨You big jerk! Don´t you EVER scare me like that again!¨ Allura fumed, hands on her hips, her foot tapping angrily on the floor.  
  
¨Ok¨ Ken wheezed, straightening and recieving a big hug from her.   
  
¨Enough scenes, I want my cherries, lets go!¨ Liz pulled Allura away and into the elevator.  
  
Allura laughed as she followed her, ¨So your craving is cherries?¨  
  
¨And black cherry ice cream, olives, salads with pickles and sushi.¨ Tony added with an exagerated sigh.  
  
Giggling at her poor husband, Liz explained to the voltron guys that she was pregnant. ¨I´m barely three monts so I don´t show very much but I get those weird cravings.¨  
  
They congratulated her and Tony, somehow managing to squeaze the group into the elevator without crushing her. Downstairs they split up into groups as they headed out to the cars. Allura, Liz, Tony, and Lance traveled in Ken´s car. The others went in the Keith´s blue car. On the way, Hunk and Pidge chatted with Devon.  
  
¨So you guys are part of that underground group Allura knows right?¨ Pidge asked  
  
¨Yeah, we´ve known her since she was fourteen.¨ Devon smiled, thinking back to those old times.   
  
¨We met her at the place where we´re going tonight. You´ll see, she was a big hit there. Its a lot of fun, we all love it. Although, its probably nothing like what you´re expecting.¨ He smiled mysteriously.  
  
¨Really? It can´t be too bad if Allura likes it.¨ Keith spoke up as he followed Tony´s car.  
  
Shrugging, he focused on the road, ¨We´ll see¨   
  
In the other car, Allura sat in back talking with Liz and Lance about anything and everything, not paying attention to their destination. ¨And Maru was just proposed to last night.¨   
  
¨Good for her! I heard she had a baby girl a while back.¨ Liz smiled as she noticed they´d arrived and were parking. ¨Ken! I can´t believe you brought us here!¨  
  
Allura finally looked out the window, smiling as she noticed where he´d taken them. ¨This is great! I was thinking of bringing the guys here.¨   
  
Lance climbed out of the car and helped her out, looking around at the dirt track in front of them. It was pretty crowded, and the people there seemed pretty rowdy. A medium sized bar blocked half the track. ¨What is this place?¨  
  
¨One of my favorite places ever!¨ Allura cheered, looping her arm with Lance´s and turning towards Ken as he closed his door and smiled at her.  
  
¨I take it the guys have never seen you ride?¨ He asked  
  
Lance frowned, ¨Ride?¨   
  
Allura nodded, ¨Can´t you hear the motors?¨   
  
¨Hey cool!¨ Pidge pointed at the motorcycles that suddenly flew past on the track, another race had obviously just started.  
  
¨This is one of your favorite places?¨ Lance laughed as Allura tugged him towards the crowd.  
  
¨Of course! I love racing!¨ Allura flashed him a smile, glancing behind them where Keith walked alongside Liz and Tony.   
  
Hunk, Pidge, Devon, and Ken all hurried forward with Allura and Lance, eager to join the races. ¨Where did you learn to ride a motorcycle?¨ Pidge asked Allura.  
  
¨Right here on this track, Devon taught me.¨ Allura cheered as the race ended, the crowd dispersed to talk to the riders.   
  
¨She learned quickly,¨ Devon pursed his lips and whistled loudly, catching the eye of a large burly man standing guard over the entrance. ¨Hey Logan!¨  
  
The man focused on him, ¨Devon! Hey!¨ He motioned for Devon to come over smiling at him.  
  
¨Come on¨ Devon took Allura´s hand, pulling her with him, she pulled Lance along and the others followed closely.  
  
¨Angel! Didn´t see you there!¨ The guy greeted Allura warmly.  
  
¨Hey big guy, how´ve ya been?¨ Allura stepped beside him, introducing him to the guys before chatting about his family and work.  
  
¨As you can tell, things here haven´t changed that much, still working, still busy so busines is good.¨ Logan shrugged. ¨But what about you? You look great, I almost didn´t recognize you if not for that cheeky little smile of yours.¨   
  
Allura laughed, ¨I´m fine, vacationing, married...¨  
  
¨You´re married?!¨ Logan looked down at her left hand, smiling at the rings he saw there. ¨Congratulations! Who is the lucky guy?¨  
  
¨Lance is,¨ Allura smiled and turned to Lance who was busy talking with Devon. ¨We barely married a month ago.¨  
  
Lance turned as he heard his name mentioned and glanced at the track. ¨So how do we race?¨  
  
¨Well usually you pay, but since I haven´t seen this little one in such a long time, just go right on in and pick a bike. The boys will help you out with everything.¨ Logan stepped aside and opened the door for them.  
  
¨Really? That´s so sweet of you, thanks!¨ Allura took Lance´s hand and pulled him in, ¨Come on you guys! Oh and Logan, could you ask Tony if he´s racing?¨ She leaned against the door as he closed it after Devon entered.  
  
¨Nah, he would have come up if he were.¨ Logan motioned for her to go on and get to the bikes.  
  
¨Okay¨ Allura sighed, noticing Keith hadn´t entered.  
  
¨He´s not too keen on motorcycles.¨ Lance said from beside her, ¨You sure you´re up for this?¨ he asked.  
  
¨Of course! I´ll be fine,¨ Allura eyes twinkled mischievously, ¨I´ll even bet that I can beat you in a race.¨   
  
¨Oh really? And just what would you bet?¨ Lance chuckled, walking alongside her to pick out a bike.  
  
¨Hmm... let´s see... I bet...¨ Allura mulled it over for a few minutes, ¨I´ll bet you a weak of breakfast in bed for the winner.¨  
  
Lance held out his hand, ¨Sounds good, but the loser has to cook it and make sure its edible. No asking Hunk for help.¨   
  
Allura shook, ¨Deal¨   
  
They both turned towards the others who were being instructed in how to handle the bikes and getting their helmets. Allura scanned the ones that were left and the ones that had been chosen, calling over her shoulder. ¨Logan where´s my baby?¨   
  
Logan turned from the doorway, ¨JED! Bring out the bikes!¨   
  
All the guys wearing bike suits turned to see who had requested ´The Bikes´ A tall blond came over to Allura, ¨You´re Angel Eyes?¨   
  
¨Yep¨ Allura grinned at his surprised expression when she answered.  
  
¨Wow, we didn´t think you´d be coming back.¨ he looked her over before going into the storehouse for the bike.  
  
¨Angel Eyes?¨ Lance mocked  
  
Allura pouted, batting her eyes, ¨You don´t think I have pretty eyes?¨  
  
¨Oh definitely, your eyes are gorgeous in fact, but ´Angelic´ is not a word I would use to describe you.¨ He laughed through the elbow in the stomach that comment earned him. ¨And what´s so special about these bikes?¨   
  
¨Nothing, they´re just bigger than the normal small bikes they rent out.¨ Allura shrugged.  
  
¨How big?¨ Lance watched the guys getting used to their bikes.  
  
¨About the size of the one you re-built, nothing you can´t handle.¨ Allura giggled at the look on his face.  
  
¨Nothing I can´t handle? YOU´RE the one I´m worried about ´princess´ ¨ Lance laughed as he dodged her punch.  
  
¨DON´T call me that! YOU got me the vacation, of all people YOU shouldn´t be the one to remind me!¨ Allura turned away as she noticed the bikes being brought out. ¨I get black¨   
  
Lance paled and stared at her, ¨You´ve got to be kidding, I am NOT riding the pink one!¨   
  
Allura giggled, ¨I´m just kidding! Logan BUILT me the pink one! I wouldn´t let you drive it if you asked.¨   
  
¨Geez, no one ever teach you to share?¨ Lance taunted, walking over to his bike.  
  
Allura´s eyes twinkled, ¨Watch it, I just might do that.¨   
  
Lance grinned, watching her as she threw her leg over the seat expertly and revved up the bike. Grinning saucily, Allura pulled on a silver helmet with a pair of pink wings decorated with black flames, the name ¨Angel Eyes¨ written across the front.   
  
¨Lets get to it then¨ She gave him one last smile before riding towards the track.  
  
¨This should be fun¨ Lance followed, eagerly anticipating the race.  
  
***********  
  
Finally another chapter out - hope you all liked it! I´m totally obsessed with Runrouni Kenshin right now and had some trouble coming up with ideas. (Anyone notice Ken´s description, and the oh-so-Kenshin use of ´oro?´)   
  
IMPORTANT: I´m also looking for someone to read my chapters before I send them in to help with any errors (I think they´re called Beta Readers)   
  
If anyone´s interested, please let me know in your review or e-mail me at -- KawaiiChica@tuxedomask.com  
  
Thanks!  
  
  
~ K.C. ~ 


	7. Carnival

Title: Friendship  
  
Author: KawaiiChica  
  
E-mail: KawaiiChica@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: PG-13   
  
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never will be. Want my own Lance but its   
not happening.   
  
A/N: The song at the end of the chapter belongs to Mariah Carey, not me.   
  
  
  
~ Lyrics  
" " Speaking  
[] Thoughts  
***********  
  
  
"You are the cutest thing ever you know that?" Allura giggled as the kitten played with her hair.   
  
¨Too bad its already sold¨ Pidge rubbed its tummy playfully.  
  
¨Yeah, but Nanny would never let us keep him at the castle, and not to mention the mice there would never forgive me.¨ Allura sighed and handed it back to the salesman. ¨Thank you¨   
  
The man smiled, ¨No problem miss.¨  
  
Leaving the petshop, they looked into the music and electronics store the others had been in last. ¨I wonder if they have that new adaptor for the computer.¨ Pidge stared at the wall through the mirror.  
  
¨Go in and ask,¨ Allura gently propelled him towards the store, ¨I´ll wait out here.¨   
  
¨Ok, be right back,¨ Pidge hurried inside, eager to find out about the newest gadgets.  
  
With a sigh, Allura turned around and walked over to the railing, looking down at the fountain below and the people doing their shopping. They had gotten up late that morning and decided to go shopping for some more clothes since none of them had very much casual stuff. The clothes Tony and Liz had bought lasted them the first week of their vacation, but they needed more, and Allura had convinced them all to go shopping for the day. So far she´d bought a bunch of jeans, skirts, and shirts, but nothing too girly.   
  
¨Well lookie here,¨ A deep voice drawled from slightly behind her.   
  
Allura froze as she recognized him, gazing coldly as he leaned against the railing beside her. [Same blond hair, green eyes, height... the jerk] ¨What an unpleasant surprise.¨   
  
¨Hello to you too gorgeous, didn´t think you could get any better.¨ He chuckled, moving to touch her hair.  
  
Allura stepped back, ¨Well you were obviously wrong, if you´ll excuse me.¨   
  
She turned to enter the store, but his hand on her arm stopped her. He came up beside her, pulling her slightly back, closer. ¨Oh don´t tell me you didn´t miss me?¨  
  
¨If anyone missed someone, its YOU who missed ME.¨ Allura glared and yanked her arm away.   
  
He nodded, ¨I certainly missed the money you made me, and all our good times of course.¨   
  
¨Good Times? YOU BA...¨ Allura was cut off by his laughter.  
  
¨You always were a little hell cat!¨   
  
Allura took the opportunity while he laughed to quickly turn and run into the store, his mocking laughter ringing in her ears. Her eyes lit up when she found three of them at the register, Hunk and Lance were chatting while Keith paid for their purchases. Lifting Lance´s right arm, Allura settled it over her shoulders and set her arm around his waist.  
  
¨Hey you¨ he greeted cheerfully, ¨Find a pet you might want?¨  
  
¨Not really,¨ Allura shrugged, smilng as Keith joined them and showed her the movies they´d bought.   
  
Heading towards the exit, they found Pidge waiting for them there. ¨Find anything you like?¨ Keith asked.  
  
¨Nothing too interesting,¨ he answered dully.  
  
Walking out, Allura was relieved to see he´d left, but quickly froze when she saw him salute her from across the hallway.  
  
¨Something wrong Allie?¨ Lance asked, noticing her tense up.  
  
Looking away, she smiled up to him, ¨Nope, just thought I saw someone, but it doesn´t matter. Where to next?¨   
  
¨HOME!¨ they all said at the same time, hurrying over to the check in desk where they´d left most of their stuff.  
  
  
***********  
  
  
¨Swimming?¨  
  
¨Nah¨  
  
¨Billiards?¨  
  
¨Nope¨  
  
¨Movie?¨  
  
¨I´ll fall asleep.¨  
  
¨Well what DO you feel like doing woman?!¨ Lance asked, turning his head to glare at her.  
  
Allura giggled and threw the ball back up, hitting the canopy on their bed. Lance caught it and threw it the same way she had. ¨I don´t know, I don´t feel like doing any of those things.¨  
  
¨How about taking a stroll through the park? Its not too late and its nice outside.¨ Lance caught the ball again.  
  
¨That could be fun,¨ Allura sat up and went over to the balcony, instantly cheering up as she saw the park. ¨There´s a carnival tonight!¨   
  
¨Really?! Then let´s go!¨ Lance stood and put on his shoes, thinking over their options. ¨While you get ready I´m gonna go leave the guys a note telling them where we´ll be.¨  
  
¨Sure, they can catch up with us if they want to.¨ Allura went into the closet to grab her tennis shoes.  
  
Ten minutes later they were walking through the park towards the carnival. Reaching one of the entrances, they looked around at all the activities.   
  
¨Where to first?¨ Lance asked, putting his hands into his pockets.  
  
Allura shrugged and looped one of her arms through his, ¨Lets just walk around and see what we like.¨   
  
Their first stop was at the ticket booth for a map and ride tickets. As they made their way towards one of them, Allura´s attention was caught by a game both. ¨Oh! Can we try to win that?! Its so cute!¨ She pointed towards a small stuffed kitten being offered by the attendant.  
  
¨You know, I could buy you another one, that one´s kind of dirty and old looking.¨ Lance scrutinized the toy from far.  
  
Allura sighed, her eyes on the kitten, ¨But that one´s so cute, and its already here.¨  
  
Seeing the dissapointment in her eyes, Lance moved an arm around her waist and headed over to the booth. ¨If you want it that badly, its yours.¨  
  
Allura beamed and went along happily, even more excited when she realized the game was perfect for him.   
  
¨All I have to do is keep the water in the center of the bullseye?¨ he smirked and gave Allura a wink, ¨I think I can manage that.¨   
  
¨In that case, I could do it too.¨ Allura sat at the gun beside him.  
  
The attendant laughed and took his money, ¨My bets are on her, if she plays.¨  
  
Lance nodded, ¨Mine too, but it doesn´t make sense to compete between each other. Nevermind the fact that I´d be a sorry husband if I didn´t win her at least one toy at the carnival.¨  
  
Allura smiled, amused by his reference to their marriage. [I´m so glad I picked him for my fake husband, he´s the most outgoing and fun.] ¨Yeah well, concentrate honey, I want my kitten.¨   
  
Lance cocked an eyebrow at her, ¨You really think I could lose?¨ He sighed and shook his head, smiling sadly at her, ¨Such little confidence you have in me love, its quite saddening.¨   
  
Hearing the bell ring, he kept his eyes on hers through the whole game, not once glancing to where his gun was shooting. Allura kept her eyes on his too, her foot tapping anxiously as she heard the water spraying, wanting to see how he was doing but not wanting to break eye contact for some reason. The winner´s bell sounded and their eyes stayed on each others as the attendant announced, ¨And our winner is contestand number 5!¨  
  
The kitten appeared between them as he laughed and congratulated her, ¨That husband of yours is a damned good shot.¨  
  
Allura finally broke away, smiling up at the older man, ¨Yes he is.¨  
  
Lance thanked the man and they turned back towards the rides, Allura inspecting her toy as he pulled her close, glaring at the guys ogling her. [Jerks] Deciding to ignore them, he turned in another direction and tapped her shoulder. ¨Where to next love?¨   
  
Allura blinked and looked up to him, ¨Love?¨ [That´s the second time he calls me that.]  
  
Lance blushed and poked at the toy. ¨Well, you´ve been calling me ´honey´ or ´babe´ all week, so I figured I should have a nickname for you too. Since I figured you wouldn´t like being called princess, I rememberd my father used to call my mother ´love´ but if you...¨  
  
¨Oh its not that I mind, its sweet.¨ Allura smiled, ¨I really like actually, its... nice.¨  
  
¨Fine by me.¨ Lance sighed and looked around, noticing they´d walked into the shopping area. ¨Nothing to do here.¨   
  
¨Yes there is, we have to do that!¨ Allura took his hand and dragged him over to an old-fashioned picture shop.  
  
¨MORE pictures?!¨ Lance groaned, ¨We spent all of your birthday taking pictures last week.¨  
  
¨I know, but remember that we went to a carnival for our first date?¨ Allura asked.  
  
¨Yeah¨   
  
¨We took fake pictures of that date, but now we can make them real!¨ Allura smiled as a fotographer came out from the back and welcomed them.  
  
¨You guys interested in any certain time period or planet? We have the ancient Arusian gods, Terran gods, sports, western...¨   
  
¨Western!¨ Allura interrupted, blushing as he smiled at her.  
  
¨Those female costumes are a bit daring if you´re up for it.¨ He looked at Lance as he noticed the rings on her hand, dissapointed to see a ring on his too.  
  
Allura smiled coyly at Lance, ¨You know, besides bikers, I´ve always had a thing for cowboys.¨   
  
¨Whatever you want darlin´ ah reckon its up to you.¨ Lance drawled, having noticed the looks this guy was giving her.  
  
¨Western it is then,¨ Allura held his hand as they followed the guy, who introduced himself as Ian, to the costume room.   
  
¨All black for you,¨ she handed Lance his costume and pushed him into a dressing room, picking through the female ones until she found one she liked and going into another room to change.   
  
Lance stepped out wearing a black pair of jeans, black shirt, navy scarf around his neck, black hat with a silver rope around it and an old fashioned holster with a couple of old revolvers. His boots made noise as he walked because of the spurs and he winced as he saw his hair was crushed by the hat. ¨Do we have to do this?¨ he asked her, looking through the set options.  
  
¨Yes,¨ Allura said, stepping out a few moments later, using a sultry voice. ¨So... how do I look?¨   
  
Lance and Ian turned at the same time both gaping instantly.  
  
From her feet up, Allura´s outfit would give Nanny a heart attack in an instant. On her feet were red, shiny heels with a thin strap over her toes and another one with a silver clasp at her ankles. Nude stockings went up to mid-thigh, held there by red lacy garters and littles suspenders that clipped to the bottom of her red corset. Accentuating her small waist and lean hips, the corset was deocrated with silver thread and clips down the front, little diamonds around the top edge. Two silvery straps went over her shoulders and crossed over her back. Hanging fromt her lower back to her knees was a veil-like skirt that shone red and silver. Her arms had silky red, opera length gloves, and diamond bracelets on each.  
  
Around her neck she wore a Y-shaped diamond necklace which rested at her collarbone, with a thin chain hanging down from the center with a large solitaire hanging her ample bosom. Her ears also had diamonds hanging from them. She´d put on make up, a dark liner accentuated her eyes, bright red lipstick on her pouty lips. Around her forehead was a silver band, with a red feather at the back.   
  
¨I take it you like it?¨ Allura turned to give him a better view, giggling as he merely nodded.  
  
¨Very nice,¨ Ian answered, causing her to blush and Lance to give him a warning look.  
  
¨Then if you guys are ready, let´s get this over with!¨ Allura came up to Lance and tilted her head to the side, studying him with the hat. ¨You know... that´s definitely a good look on you.¨   
  
¨No its not, its squishing my hair.¨ Lance rubbed his forehead, making the hat go lopsided.  
  
Allura giggled, reaching up to fix it, ¨That´s too bad... I really like it.¨   
  
¨Yeah well, lets go.¨ Lance turned and followed Ian, not coming near her. [That outfit is gonna be hard to forget tonight.] Glancing back, he inwardly groaned and quickly turned back forward. [She´s not really your wife, she´s not really your wife...]  
  
  
***********  
  
  
¨HEY!¨ Allura glared at him as she looked down at what was left of her candied apple. ¨Look at what you left me with, almost no candy!¨   
  
He laughed as she took a couple bites that were left before throwing away the trash. ¨I´ll make it up to you with a cotton candy later.¨   
  
¨Hmph, you´d better!¨ Allura looked down around for another ride.  
  
¨How about those?¨ Lance pointed to the spinning tea cups.  
  
¨I don´t think my stomach can handle those right now.¨ Allura looked around for another ride.   
  
So far they´d been on the large roller coaster, bumper cars, flying chairs, through the glass and mirror maze, in the spinning room, and on the viking ship twice. Walking side by side, they still only had the kitten as a souvenir, their pictures waiting back at the shop.   
  
¨Your turn to pick Allie.¨  
  
¨That one!¨ she pointed at the haunted house.   
  
¨You sure you won´t get too frightened? Wouldn´t want you to have any nightmares tonight.¨ Lance teased.  
  
¨Oh don´t worry about that, if I get scared I´ll just stay real close to you.¨ Allura counted their tickets as they walked over. Handing them to the attendant, she stepped into the car and scooted over for him to sit next to her. Once the ride started, she held on to the kitten and leaned closer to him, both laughing at the fake spider webs and monsters in the first room.  
  
The next was called ´Real Monsters´  
  
¨They´re all the robeasts we fought against,¨ Lance laughed as he remembered one of their battles. Allura nodded and checked to see which was the most frightening. A sticky hand suddenly came out of nowhere and touched her bare shoulder, causing her to scream and turn into him, her arms going around his waist.  
  
¨Its fake Allie!¨ Lance wrapped his arms over her shoulders, grimacing as he felt the sticky stuff left on her shoulder.  
  
¨I know but if felt so gross!¨ Allura rested her head on his shoulder and sighed, reading aloud the name on the doors to the next room.  
  
´Frightful Truths´  
The room was decorated like the streets of the city, a mugging happening in one place, bars, drunks, worse of all was a hologram of two people´s shadows against one wall. Looking away from it, Allura´s mind filled with memories and she didn´t even notice the exit until they were outside and being asked to step out of the car.   
  
Lance went down the steps ahead of her, talking about that last room for a few minutes before he noticed how quiet she´d become. Looking down at her fidgeting with the kitten, he wondered what was wrong. ¨Allie?¨   
  
She didn´t say anything, just shook her head and wiped at her eyes, sniffling. [What could have caused this? I know she wasn´t frigtened by that last room...] Cupping her chin in his hand, he forced her head up to look into her eyes, wondering why the tears in them. ¨Allura?¨   
  
Seeing the worry in his expression, Allura suddenly felt guilty for worrying him and blinked back her tears, wiping at her eyes. ¨I´m sorry, its nothing.¨   
  
¨Its not nothing, something had to have made you cry.¨ Lance pulled a napkin from his pocket and held it up to her nose. ¨Blow¨  
  
Allura giggled and took it from him, ¨I might be a crybaby, but I can blow my own nose.¨  
  
Walking over to the trash can, she threw away the napkin and turned back towards him, holding out her hand. ¨Win me another prize?¨   
  
¨You still haven´t told me what made you cry.¨ Lance stayed where he was.  
  
Allura shook her head, ¨Please don´t make me explain, its not something worth remembering, I just... something in there...¨   
  
¨Tell me later then,¨ Lance came over and took her hand, pulling her close for a quick hug which she returned eagerly. Kissing the top of her head, he stepped back and they headed over to the game booths, looking for another prize. Feeling her shiver, he took off his jacket and helped her put it on, scolding her lightly for not bringing one of her own.  
  
Walking past the last of the rides, their attention was caught by an old man who called out to them. ¨Now I KNOW the young lady wearing the black jacket would just love a ride through the tunnel!¨  
  
Turning to see what tunnel he was talking about, Allura giggled and blushed, Lance quirked an eyebrow at her. "Would you?"  
  
¨Of course she would! What young lady doesn´t come to the fair with a ride through the tunnel of love in mind?¨ The old man waved them over, his cheerfulness getting to them.  
  
¨Why not?¨ Allura laughed and headed over, Lance going along with her. ¨If only to see what its like.¨ she mumbled.  
  
Sitting int he heart shaped little boat, Allura blushed again as the old man winked at a slightly blushing Lance, ¨Don´t worry lad, the ride is nice and sloooow.¨  
  
She covered her laughter with her hand as they drifted away into the pink and white tunnel. Once out of earshot she let go and laughed out loud, soon both of them were laughing, pointing at the cheesy decorations. ¨Can you believe people find this romantic? Big naked babies holding bows and heart-shaped arrows, tacky hearts, streamers and pink water.¨  
  
Lance shook his head, ¨Nope... not my idea of romantic.¨  
  
¨Mine either,¨ Allura sighed and leaned back against him. ¨What is your idea of romantic?¨  
  
¨Mmm... the beach, a lake, or a forest.¨ Lance replied.  
  
Allura nodded, ¨So a romantic date with Lance would include a trip to one of those places.¨  
  
¨Not to mention a nice meal, something light and fun, finger foods. A nice wine, good music, a moonlit stroll or swim...¨ Lance tried to think of what else.  
  
¨Finger foods?¨ Allura turned to look at him.  
  
¨Yeah, its more romantic to feed someone with your own fingers than with your fork, don´t you think? More personal.¨ Lance shrugged, ¨It always worked before.¨  
  
¨I bet it did...¨ Allura sighed, ¨All that does sound nice.¨  
  
¨What´s your idea of romantic?¨ Lance asked, curious.  
  
¨The same, moonlight, music, wine, a nice secluded place. Maybe some rain or snow if we´re inside near a warm fire.¨ Allura toyed with the kitten in her lap. ¨Candles and flower petals too.¨  
  
Lance tapped its nose, ¨Flower petals? Why not the whole flower?¨   
  
Allura shrugged, ¨I remember I read in a book once that the main character walked into her house to find it covered in rose petals. Pink petals over everything downstairs, a trail of white petals leading her upstairs to her bedroom, and red rose petals covering everything there.¨   
  
She sighed and smiled dreamily, ¨And when she stepped up to the fan where a note was hung, she pulled the chain as told and more pink petals rained down on her.¨  
  
¨Sounds romantic,¨ Lance imagined Allura in her room back at the palace, twirling in her princess dress as a stream of pink rose petals rained down on her. He could practically hear her sweet giggling, see the delight in her eyes.  
  
They sat quietly for the rest of the ride, snapping out of their thoughts as they reached the exit and the little dock there. The old man smiled at their peaceful expressions and greeted them happily, ¨I knew you two would enjoy that.¨  
  
¨Yes, thank you.¨ Allura smiled, taking Lance´s hand as she stepped off the boat.  
  
¨Have a nice night!¨ The old man waved as they left, helping another couple into the ride.  
  
  
***********  
  
  
¨Just one more ride and then we can go home.¨ Lance said, holding her toys underneath one arm, the other wrapped around her shoulders, her hands still carrying the kitten and now their pictures also.  
  
¨What ride would that be?¨ Allura asked, yawning.  
  
¨The Ferris Wheel,¨ Lance pointed ahead, checking his watch. ¨If we get on in five minutes we´ll have a perfect view.¨  
  
¨Perfect view?¨ Allura looked up at him confused.  
  
¨The midnight fireworks.¨ He stopped beside the line, letting people go ahead as he kept an eye on the time.  
  
¨I didn´t know there´d be fireworks.¨ Allura smiled and watched the wheel start up.  
  
¨It tells you in the map.¨ Lance watched the people on the ride, all couples, all cheerful.   
  
Suddenly his cell phone rang. Allura pulled it out of one of his jacket pockets, since she´d stolen it from him after washing off the sticky stuff from the haunted house, and answered. ¨Hello?¨  
  
¨Princess where are you guys? Its almost midnight.¨ Pidge asked, worry evident in his voice.  
  
¨We´re at the carnival still, like the note says.¨ Allura noticed Lance´s confused look and shrugged. ¨Where have you guys been that you just noticed we´re gone?¨  
  
¨We went to the mall to change that adaptor like I´d told you and met up with Ken and Devon there. They invited us to go to a movie and then we went to eat. We came home a while ago and figured you guys had probably gone to sleep, but Keith just knocked on your door and no one answered.¨  
  
¨Lance left a note for you guys by the tv, we´ve been at the carnival all evening.¨ Allura noticed the ride coming to an end and a line starting up. ¨Sorry Pidge, we´ve got to get in line for the Ferris Wheel now, the fireworks will be starting in a few minutes so if you want to see them go out to our balcony. We´ll be home a little bit after them k-?¨  
  
¨Allie!¨ Lance called her as he handed their tickets to the attendant.  
  
¨Gotta go, bye!¨ Allura quickly hung up and stepped into the ride beside him.  
  
¨They went to the movies with Ken and Dev, and then to eat before going home.¨ Allura explained. ¨The note must have fallen somewhere, they thought we were asleep.¨  
  
¨Yeah right, this early?¨ Lance settled the prizes beside him and rested his arm across the seat behind her. Yawning, Allura turned and leaned against him, her head resting at his shoulder.  
  
Suddenly a pair fireworks sounded, exploding in two pink and blue stars. ¨How pretty!¨ Allura smiled and watched, her eyes twinkling merrily.   
  
¨Yeah,¨ Lance agreed, looking down at her instead, although she didn´t notice.  
  
The ride ended before the fireworks so they walked towards the apartment, leaving the carnival grounds before looking for a place to watch the rest of them. They finally stopped at a bench by the lake.  
  
¨I used to be afraid that the sparks would fall and burn me,¨ Allura laughed as she told him.  
  
¨I used to be afraid of the noise,¨ Lance thought back to his childhood, eyes clouding as he thought of his family.  
  
¨We grew up too fast.¨ Allura sighed, noticing his darkened mood.  
  
Lance nodded, ¨We had to.¨  
  
Allura picked up a pebble from the ground and threw it into the lake. ¨I kind of regretted it for a while... growing up so quickly, all the pressure that was dropped on me when my father died... my innocence gone.¨   
  
¨I don´t know about that one, you seem pretty innocent to me.¨ Lance teased quietly.  
  
¨You don´t know me that well.¨ Allura chuckled sadly, ¨I wrote a song about it once, when I was really depressed.¨  
  
¨I like your songs, you have a nice voice and a good way to express yourself.¨ Lance smiled, ¨Do you remember how it went?¨  
  
¨That song I wrote?¨ Allura stood and thought for a bit, not turning towards him.   
  
Humming for a bit, her voice came out soft and clear as she started to sing.  
  
  
~ I was a wayward child  
~ With the weight of the world  
~ That I held deep inside  
~ Life was a winding road  
~ And I learned many things  
~ Little ones shouldn't know  
  
~ But I closed my eyes  
~ Steadied my feet on the ground  
~ Raised my head to the sky  
~ And though time's rolled by  
~ Still I feel like that child  
~ As I look at the moon  
~ Maybe I grew up  
~ A little too soon  
  
She turned and kept her eyes locked with his as she sang the next part.  
  
~ Funny how one can learn  
~ To grow numb to the madness  
~ And block it away  
~ I left the worst unsaid  
~ Let it all dissipate  
~ And I try to forget  
  
She closed her eyes and turned away, her arms wrapped around herself as she sang.  
  
~ As I closed my eyes  
~ Steadied my feet on the ground  
~ Raised my head to the sky  
~ And the time rolled by  
~ Still I feel like a child  
~ As I look at the moon  
~ Maybe I grew up  
~ A little too soon  
  
Walking forward, she stood at the water´s edge and looked down at her reflection. Lance came closer, standing a few feet behind.  
  
~ Nearing the edge  
~ Oblivious  
~ I almost fell right over  
~ A part of me  
~ Will never be quite able  
~ To feel stable  
~ That woman-child falling inside  
~ Was on the verge of fading  
~ Thankfully, I woke up in time  
  
Turning, she held out a hand to him and sat down, pulling him to sit beside her. Her arms wrapping around his chest and she lay her head in the crook of his neck.  
  
~ Guardian angel  
~ I sail away on an ocean  
~ With you by my side  
~ Orange clouds roll by  
~ They burn into your image  
~ And you're still alive  
  
~ As I closed my eyes  
~ Steady my feet on the ground  
~ Raise my head to the sky  
~ And though time rolls by  
~ Still I feel like a child  
~ As I look at the moon  
~ Maybe I grew up  
~ A little too soon...  
  
She hummed for a few minutes, enjoying the feel of his arms wrapped around her.  
  
[How am I supposed to last three months like this?] Lance tightened his hold on her, knowing he´d fall in love before their time was up. [Like I´m not over half-way there already]  
  
Noticing the fireworks were ending, he lay back to watch what was left of the show, bringing her down with him. Allura just moved her arms more comfortably and settled closer to him, not wanting to pull away. [Liz was right... I´m gonna be in big trouble when this vacation´s over and I have to let go]   
  
Feeling the long day catching up with her, Allura yawned and snuggled closer to him, falling asleep in his arms.  
  
***********  
  
Much waffiness in this chapter, I hope you like it. Review and let me know!   
  
  
~ K.C. ~ 


	8. Mystery Caller 8

Title: Friendship  
  
Author: KawaiiChica  
  
E-mail: KawaiiChica@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: PG-13   
  
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never will be. Want my own Lance but its   
not happening.   
  
A/N: Ok, as you will be able to tell by the end of this chapter, I´ve decided who she´s going to end up with. I´m sorry to all who don´t approve, but I really like them. Thanks to all of you who´ve reviewed!  
  
  
  
~ Lyrics  
" " Speaking  
[] Thoughts  
***********  
  
¨You took more pictures?¨ Pidge asked as he carried the stuff, standing beside Lance who carried a still-sleeping Allura.  
  
¨Her idea not mine,¨ Lance sighed as the elevator doors opened and they stepped into the apartment, going straight up to tuck her into bed.   
  
While he was gone, the others sat around the downstairs living room, looking over their toys, Pidge holding the pictures. ¨Poor Lance, this must have been torture.¨ he said sarcastically.  
  
¨What are those?¨ Keith came up beside him, doing a double-take as he glimpsed at the pictures.   
  
¨Wow, look at the princess!¨ Hunk chuckled, taking one out of Pidge´s hands.  
  
¨Wait a second and I´ll show them to you in the order we took them.¨ Lance came back down and snatched them away, fixing them and handing them one by one to Keith.  
  
¨This was when we weren´t really sure of what to do.¨ Lance chuckled as he looked down at it.  
  
The picture was in a bar setting, Allura sat on the bar counter with her legs crossed, Lance standing in front of her, her arms wrapped around his neck. He was facing towards the camera, a knife in one hand, a gun in the other, and a menacing look in his eyes. Allura smiled coyly behind him, one of her hands playing with his shirt buttons.  
  
The second was of the two of them at a staircase, Allura leaning over the railing, one finger bent in a ´come here´ signal while she smiled seductively. Lance was glancing at the camera, tilting his head as he excused himself, one foot already on the first step.  
  
The next was that of him sitting at a table holding Allura across his lap, one hand around her waist, the other holding a deck of cards in front of them. Allura had one arm over his shoulders, the other pointing to a card as she whispered into his ear, a wide grin on his face.  
  
¨How many pictures did you take?¨ Hunk asked as he noticed the others left.  
  
¨Each session includes three, but when we were taking these first ones another fotographer came in and asked us to let him take a couple more. He really liked us together.¨ Lance shrugged.  
  
¨His were a lot more fun to take too.¨ Allura said from the doorway, yawning as she came in and sat between Keith and Hunk on the large sofa.   
  
¨They´re certainly more interesting,¨ Pidge said, looking over the first one Lance handed him.  
  
Allura blushed as she looked at it with Hunk.  
  
They were at the bar again, this time with Allura standing facing Lance, one hand holding a shot glass on his shoulder, the other at his mouth as he licked her wrist, a slice of lemon in her hand. Their eyes were on each other, Lance smiling seductively, Allura´s lips slightly parted as if caught gasping. One of her legs was firmly on the ground while the other was slightly lifted, his arm around her waist for support.  
  
¨Was it real alcohol?¨ Hunk asked her, handing it over to Keith.  
  
¨Yep,¨ Allura giggled as she remembered Lance´s expression when the fotographer had told him the idea and she´d agreed.   
  
¨Nanny would flip!¨ Pidge stared at the picture in his hand, glancing wide-eyed at the princess on the sofa. [We really don´t know her that well... I never imagined...]  
  
In the picture, Lance was leaning against the bar she sat on, one hand around her body, the other held up by one of hers. Allura sat with one leg bent beneath her, the other stretched out across the bar, one hand across his shoulders holding the shot glass again, in the other she held his wrist. Most surprising was that unlike him, she didn´t lick it, rather she was licking his index finger, a slice of lemon dangling from his thumb and middle finger. Her expression was that of seductive delight, his that of a struggle for slef-control.  
  
¨That´s his favorite,¨ Allura said, blushing as she saw their surprised looks.  
  
¨And this is hers,¨ Lance handed over the last one, the most daring.  
  
¨No wonder,¨ Pidge gaped at it, Hunk and Keith getting up to see it sooner.   
  
The picture was a side shot, and much more close up. In all the others you could see their whole bodies, but this one cut off her feet and his lower body. Allura was seated on the poker table, knees up with Lance standing between her legs. One of her arms was behind her, holding her up, the other was at the buttons of his shirt. Lance´s right arm (and the one closest to the camera) was at her side, pulling down her garter as he undid the suspender holding it up. His other arm was wrapped around her, fingers undoing the lacing at the back of her corset.   
  
They were both smiling, it looked like Allura was giggling as their noses touched. Their eyes were locked on each others, hers a bit dreamy, his looking more intense. Only a few centimeters separated their lips, and had it been cold, their breaths would have been seen mixing.  
  
¨You like it too,¨ Allura blushed and threw a pillow at him, yawning as she looked at the time. ¨I´m going back to bed, I just came down for my kitten so good night.¨   
  
¨Wait up!¨ Lance said a quick good night and followed her up, leaving the guys with the pictures and prizes.  
  
¨Looks like they had a good time.¨ Pidge said, still holding the last picture.  
  
¨Too good a time if you ask me.¨ Hunk sighed, staring at the dreamy expression in Allura´s eyes. ¨How long do you think they´ll last?¨   
  
¨Before realizing it? Not too long... its just a shame.¨ Pidge handed the picture over and excused himself, going up to his room with a glance at their closed door.  
  
[How could I have missed this? What was I thinking?] Keith wondered, realizing what they were talking about.  
  
¨He´s right about that. Neither of them deserves what they´re bound to go through.¨ Hunk noticed Keith´s silence and looked up at him, inwardly flinching as he realized. ¨You love her too.¨  
  
Keith nodded, ¨I was so busy telling myself it couldn´t be... I didn´t even try.¨  
  
¨You know, Lance asked me and Koran once, if we agreed with that old saying, ´Its better to have loved and lost, than never loved at all´.¨ Hunk stood, turning off the lights as they headed upstairs.  
  
¨And?¨ Keith asked  
  
Hunk shrugged, ¨We both agreed with it.¨  
  
¨You think she loves him too?¨ Keith asked, glancing at the doors as Allura´s giggling was suddenly heard.  
  
¨I think we both know that answer.¨ Hunk patted his back sadly before going into his room.  
  
¨I guess we do.¨ Keith turned off the light of the hallway before going into his room.   
  
  
***********  
  
  
¨NOOOOOO!¨ Allura yelled, watching in dismay as Lance made another goal.   
  
Keith came up beside her, wiping at his forehead as he caught his breath. ¨Don´t worry about it, we´ll catch up quickly.¨   
  
Allura nodded, smiling as she pulled a leaf from his hair, ¨Rough fall?¨   
  
He laughed and nodded, ¨Didn´t you see him shove me into the bush?¨  
  
Giggling she shook her head, ¨I was too busy trying to get the ball from Pidge.¨  
  
¨Hey are you two gonna play or what?!¨ Tony yelled as he ran towards them with the ball.  
  
¨Well pass it already!¨ Allura yelled back, recieving it perfectly as he gave it a good kick in her direction.  
  
¨Ken! Cover her!¨ Lance yelled as he turned her way.  
  
Keeping the ball directly in front of her, Allura ran towards the goal, yelping as Ken suddenly came up beside her, kicking to take the ball away. ¨HEY!¨ She laughed and moved it out of his way. She had to stop and do some fancy footwork to keep him from taking it from her.   
  
Suddenly as he tried to kick it away by kicking between her legs, she moved and their legs twisted together. ¨Agh!¨  
  
Allura squeaked as she lost her balance, grabbing his shirt as she fell backwards. Ken wasn´t any more stable, so in the next instant they landed on the ground, Allura pinned beneath him, the ball rolling in the opposite direction.  
  
Tony, Keith, Lance and Pidge came over, laughing as Allura smacked poor Ken across the back of his head.   
  
¨He didn´t mean it literally Ken!¨ Tony teased as he helped them up.  
  
¨You sure about that?¨ Ken asked, grinning at Allura who was laughing along with them now.  
  
¨Hey guys! Some help over here!¨ Liz yelled as she dropped the grocery bags on the picnic table where their jacktes and sweatshirts were.  
  
¨Coming!¨ Allura yelled, smiling as Ken turned to go help Liz. Following closely, she held a finger to her lips as Pidge looked at her funny and was about to ask what she was doing. Suddenly her foot kicked his and he fell exactly as she´s planned, on all fours.   
  
Laughing as she supported herself on his shoulders, she leaned forward to look him in the face. ¨Gimme a lift?¨  
  
He grinned and shook his head at her, ¨Sneaky brat! Go ahead.¨  
  
¨Okay!¨ She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs against his waist, holding on tight as he stood.   
  
¨UGH! When´d you get so heavy?¨ Ken asked, fixing his hands around her legs to hold her up.  
  
¨I am NOT that heavy!¨ Allura pouted and lay her head on his back with a sigh, ¨That was a tough game.¨  
  
¨Wait ´till we play football,¨ Ken snickered, turning to the others who were watching them. ¨You guys coming?¨   
  
¨Yeah,¨ they snapped out of it and followed.   
  
They had sandwiches and chips for lunch, most of the latter ending on the floor as Ken threw one at Allura and she retaliated, soon igniting a full-on chip war.   
  
¨Take them out of my hair and I´ll do the same for you.¨ Allura said, sitting sideways with her back to Lance.  
  
¨Why do I get the feeling you have the easier job?¨ Lance said as he started picking them out, turning sideways on the bench to be directly behind her.  
  
Allura shrugged, picking up a chip from the table that had landed on her plate. She ate a few, laughing as Ken and Pidge shook the chips from their hair. ¨You look like dogs when you do that.¨   
  
¨Geez thanks, that´s such a sweet thing to say!¨ Ken scowled and shook his head out again.  
  
¨Hey you two, smile!¨ Liz called out as she stepped closer and pulled out her camera.   
  
Lance laughed and stopped taking out the chips, pulling her to lean back against him, his arms around her shoulders. They smiled at the camera burst into laughter right before the click as Tony tripped on a root and fell. [That´ll be a cute picture] Liz turned and laughed at her husband on the floor.  
  
¨Hey, so who wants to play football?¨ Ken asked, tossing the ball up in his hands.  
  
¨I´m in!¨ Allura hopped up and quickly turned to Lance, shaking his hair with her hands.   
  
¨Allie!¨ Lance grabbed her arms to stop her.  
  
She gave him an innocent look as she explained, ¨I was just getting the chips out.¨  
  
¨Geez thanks for being so careful,¨ Lance muttered as he stood, both heading back to the field to play.  
  
They were hallfay through the third quarter when disaster struck. The teams were tied 14-14, Pidge was sitting out the quarter. Chatting with Liz as they cheered or booed the players, he winced as Tony tackled Keith to the ground.   
  
¨Its a rough game,¨ Liz shrugged, watching out more specifically for Allura. Although three of the guys took great care not to handle her too roughly, the other two... made up for it.  
  
They lined up again, Keith´s team (consisting of him, Hunk and Allura) was playing defense, while Tony, Lance and Ken were on offense. The ball was thrown back to their quarterback Tony, who quickly passed to Ken, their fastest runner.   
  
Allura was just a few steps away from reaching him when he suddenly stopped, Allura crashing into his back. ¨Hey what´s the big deal?!¨   
  
¨Sorry, but don´t you feel that?¨ Kenshin looked up at the grey sky, ¨Its looked like rain all morning.¨  
  
¨That doesn´t mean its gonna rain!¨ Allura looked up as she felt a drop on her neck.  
  
As they stood there for a few moments, a sudden downpour started. They all ran for their jackets and sweatshirts at the table, not surprised to find Liz under an umbrella with the bags ready to go. After gathering all their things, they headed to their building, the guys running ahead with the bags while Allura walked alongside Liz, but not beneath the umbrella.   
  
¨You´re going to get sick Allie,¨ she admonished softly.  
  
¨No I´m not,¨ Allura sighed and closed her eyes, enjoying the rain as it soaked her completely.  
  
Reaching the lobby of their building, they found Mrs. Winthrop in holding a sleeping baby. ¨Oh thank goodness! Would you mind helping me with the Sammy for a few minutes? He´s Helen´s little nephew and we promised to babysit him, but Helen had to go to the store and I forgot to give her my wallet. I´ll just be a few moments.¨  
  
¨Of course,¨ Allura smiled and took the baby´s bag from her, ¨One of the boys will take her upstairs and I´ll watch her after I change.¨  
  
¨But good lord, you´re soaking wet!¨ Mrs Winthrop tsked and handed the baby to Pidge, the dryest of them all. ¨Thank you so much dears!¨  
  
They assured her it was no problem and went into the elevator. Tony and Liz went home to change while the rest of the group went to the top floor and crowded around the baby.   
  
Allura changed into a pj set, made up of a pair of shorts and a tight t-shirt quickly and then sent them all to their rooms. Lance loaned Ken a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and they all hung out in the TV room, watching Allura with the baby.  
  
She was sitting cross-legged in one of the large reclining chairs with the baby in her arms. Ken sat on the armrest and heard her sigh, ¨Why the gloom?¨  
  
¨No reason,¨ she smiled up at him sadly.  
  
¨What´s with women and babies?¨ Pidge asked absently.  
  
¨You can´t understand what its like for us,¨ Allura explained as she gently rocked the baby. ¨You´ll never know how special it makes you feel to be pregnant and know that there´s a new life starting inside of you.¨   
  
She choked up and blinked back the tears in her eyes.  
  
¨I guess not,¨ Pidge quieted as he watched her.  
  
Keith and Hunk came up from the kitchen with some snacks, Lance bringing up a tray of drinks. They sat and talked quietly, discussing their plans for the weekend and the next week. When the baby suddenly woke up and reached for Allura´s chest, Ken laughed and handed her a bottle from the bag.   
  
¨But you know, if its THAT kind of attention you´d like...¨ he gave her a sly grin and laughed as she blushed and smacked him on the arm.  
  
¨Thank you so much!¨ Helen entered and took the baby from Allura. ¨We ran out of diapers and baby wipes and the lines at the store were so long!¨   
  
¨Don´t worry about it, she was no trouble at all.¨ Allura assured her, covering her with a blanket.   
  
Mrs Winthrop came over and glanced at Allura and Lance, ¨And what about you two? When can we expect a visit from the stork?¨  
  
Lance choked on the cookie he was eating and was slapped on the back by a laughing Keith. Allura was the one to answer, her smile a bit sad as she helped Helen wrap the baby in a blanket.  
  
¨We´re not having children¨  
  
¨Oh dear, that´s such a shame. Imagine how gorgeous your children would be.¨ Mrs Winthrop sighed and looked at Lance, ¨I take suppose you´ve taken the necessary steps to prevent it then?¨  
  
Lance blinked and hesitated to answer, relieved when Allura did it for him. ¨No, its nothing like that, we haven´t done anything, its me.¨  
  
Ken watched sadly as she finished, ¨I can´t have children... the doctor told me years ago.¨   
  
Hunk and Pidge gaped as she took a deep breath and smiled through the tears in her eyes. ¨One gets used to the idea after a while.¨  
  
¨I´m very sorry to hear that, please excuse me for prying my dear.¨ Mrs Winthrop apologized and excused herself as Helen motioned for them to go.  
  
¨Don´t worry about it,¨ Allura assured her, escorting them to the elevator as the baby began to cry.  
  
¨I´m really, very sorry we brought up such a difficult subject.¨ Helen apologized as the doors closed.  
  
Allura just smiled and nodded, giving a troubled sigh as the elevator left and she headed back upstairs. The guys were quietly munching on the snacks when she sat down and picked up a cookie, pulling her legs up in front of her on the seat.   
  
¨Don´t you think that was a little extreme Ally?¨ Pidge asked  
  
She cocked her head to a side and looked at him, ¨What?¨   
  
¨That lie about the children, you could have just said not for a while or something like that.¨ he explained.  
  
Ken came up behind her and glared at Pidge, about to answer when she did it for him. ¨If it had been a lie, then yes, it would have been a bit extreme.¨   
  
Keith watched with a heavy heart as he saw her hands trembling and the tears in her eyes. Allura took a ate her cookie quijetly, eyes staring down at the carpet before suddenly standing and going downstairs as the doorbell rang.   
  
Lance was the one to break the silence first, speaking to Ken, ¨You knew didn´t you?¨  
  
Ken nodded and looked at a picture of her on the stereo regretfully, ¨Yes, I was there when it happened.¨  
  
¨When what happened?¨ Lance asked, feeling an empty pit in his stomach as he waited for an answer.  
  
¨Yeah, when what happened?¨ Liz asked as she came up the stairs, Tony a couple of steps behind her.  
  
¨Hey! Glad you´re here, I´ll be downstairs with Allie.¨ Ken smiled, relieved that he wouldn´t have to answer and hurried downstairs.  
  
¨What happened?¨ Tony smiled as they reached the landing.  
  
Lance offered Liz his chair as he asked, ¨Why can´t Allura have children?¨   
  
Tony winced and Liz bit her lip, looking down at her hands as she explained. ¨Allura had an accident during her previous vacation, she fell down a long flight of stairs. She was hurt pretty badly, and the doctors said that as a result, she won´t be able to have children.¨  
  
¨There´s a slight possibility that her body could handle it, but it´d be dangerous for her and the child.¨ Tony finished for her.  
  
Pidge swallowed past the lump in his throat and asked, ¨Do Nanny and Koran know about that?¨   
  
¨Dr Gorma does, Koran might, but I´m pretty sure Nanny doesn´t.¨ Tony sighed, ¨She´s the only one that doesn´t know about the details of Allura´s last vacation. If she did, there´s no way she´d have let the princess come this time, even with you four.¨  
  
¨Really? Why? What happened?¨ Hunk watched as Liz gulped and shook her head.  
  
¨Its really not for us to tell you, if Allura wants you to know, she´ll explain. Just... don´t push, she´ll tell you eventually I´m sure, its just that...¨ Liz was cut off by a voice from the stairs.  
  
¨It was too much¨   
  
Allura and Ken came up the steps and joined them, Tony held out his arm and pulled Allie close as she tried to smile.  
  
¨My last vacation began on my fourteenth birthday, and in the span of six months... you really wouldn´t believe how much I learned.¨ Allura smiled, glad she´d regained her calm.   
  
Looking at her Voltron force teemmates, she assured them, ¨I promise to tell you before our three months are up, but not now ok?¨  
  
¨Ok,¨ they all agreed.  
  
As the group stood silently for a few moments, Ken´s grumbling stomach brought them out of it. As they all laughed, he blushed and shrugged, ¨I guess those sandwiches weren´t enough.¨  
  
¨You said it!¨ Hunk agreed and stood, ¨Let´s go make some real food.¨  
  
Allura laughed as Keith and Tony joined them, arguing over the dinner menu. Pidge moved over beside Liz and they started talking about a visit to her studio. Shivering slightly, Allura headed to her room for a sweatshirt, noticing Lance watching her closely.   
  
As the phone rang, she ran into the room, calling over her shoulder, ¨I´ll get it!¨   
  
Lance followed her and headed for the closet to grab a sweatshirt also, stopping as he heard her tone of voice.  
  
¨What do you mean, it wasn´t so difficult?! I didn´t even get this number until a few days after I moved in! How could you get it?... well that´s great!¨ Allura huffed and rubbed her tired eyes.  
  
¨You really think so? You are such an arrogant bastard you know that?! And I wouldn´t be so confident about...¨ Allura glanced at Lance and went into the bathroom.  
  
[What the hell´s going on? Who´s she talking to?] Lance saw her troubled expression and was about to go pick up another phone when she sent the person to the devil and threw the phone out the door and slammed it.  
  
Picking up the phone, Lance set it on the bed and lifted a hand to knock on the door when he heard the water being turned off. Allura stepped out and winced as she saw him standing there.   
  
Noticing the anger in her eyes, Lance leaned against the bedstand and asked. ¨What´s the matter? Who was on the phone?¨   
  
¨Some jerk,¨ Allura shrugged and pressed cold hands to her cheeks, ¨I don´t feel so good, would you mind if I try to get some rest before dinner?¨  
  
¨And you don´t know the jerk? It sounded like you did.¨ Lance insisted.  
  
¨He´s no one important Lance, please let me get some sleep?¨ Allura pleaded.  
  
¨I´m not so sure about that,¨ he looked at her skeptically for a few moments before giving in with a sigh.  
  
¨Fine, I´ll go, but I WILL find out what´s up Allie.¨ He kissed her forehead, noticing she was slightly warm and turned to go.   
  
He was surprised by Allura grabbing onto his arm, ¨Don´t be mad Lance, please?¨  
  
¨Maybe if you´d tell me...¨ he sighed as he saw her shake her head sadly and turned away.  
  
¨Would you mind staying? I really do feel kind of sick and I don´t want to go hang out any more, with everyone making a bunch of noise and chatting.¨ Allura shivered again and stepped closer, leaning her forehead against his shoulder.  
  
¨You don´t feel good because you´re running a fever Allie,¨ Lance motioned for her to get into bed, ¨Lie down under the blankets.¨  
  
Allura sighed, but did as told, standing beside him as he pulled back the covers and then crawling in and over.   
  
¨You really want me to stay with you?¨ Lance asked, not surprised to see her nod. ¨Will you tell me who was on the phone?¨  
  
Allura paled a bit before shaking her head, ¨I can´t.¨   
  
Lance frowned, ¨Why not?¨  
  
¨Because I can´t,¨ Allura looked down at the blanket and picked at the design nervously.  
  
¨Allura that was obviously someone you know, probably from your vacation before. How many men did you know? All your old friends save Liz, have been guys, who´s he, that you won´t tell me about him?¨ Lance sat beside her, urging her to explain.  
  
¨I would if he were an important friend but he´s not, I´d rather not talk to him again ever, but he found the number somehow.¨ Allura shivered again.  
  
Lance stood and walked to the foot of the bed, ¨Why can´t you tell me his name at least? I thought we were close enough to share our problems Allura.¨   
  
¨We are! This isn´t a problem Lance!¨ Allura tried to convince him.  
  
¨Sure it isn´t, and you tell everyone to go to the devil? Who the heck was on the phone Allura?¨ he insisted.   
  
¨Just some jerk, why are you making this such a big deal?¨ Allura watched in dismay as he headed to the door.  
  
¨Hey wait, where are you going?!¨ Allura sat up and crawled to the edge of the bed as he headed to the door.  
  
¨I´m going downstairs to hang out with the others for a while, hopefully cool off before having to come back up. Maybe when I come back you´ll open up a bit. ¨ Lance reached the door and turned as she called his name. Facing her, he briefly noticed how flushed she was before concentrating on her pleas.   
  
¨Can´t you stay for a few minutes? I really don´t feel so good, please don´t go.¨ Allura was practically begging, her eyes pleading.  
  
Lance felt a pang of guilt as he shook his head and stepped out of the room, ¨I don´t think so Allie.¨   
  
¨Lance!¨ Allura cried, gulping as he closed the door behind him and left her there.  
  
¨Fine! Be a jerk!¨ Allura huffed and pulled the blankets around herself, shivering as she thought back over the phone call.  
  
***********  
  
Downstairs Ken was talking to Devon on his cell phone when Lance arrived. ¨I´m not sure if they´ll want to go, Allura might not want to go.¨  
  
¨Go where? And where´s Tony and Liz?¨ Lance asked  
  
¨To an old club they re-opened by Devon´s apartment, he called to invite us to tonight´s party.¨ Keith told him, not looking too excited. ¨Liz felt a bit sick so they went home early, they apologized for not saying good-bye but the didn`t want to interrupt you and Allura.¨   
  
¨Oh, well... I´m up for a night out. Tell Devon to count me in.¨ Lance looked over his clothes and decided he was fine. He was dressed in black jeans with a navy blue shirt.  
  
¨Me too,¨ Pidge agreed.  
  
Hunk hesitated for a moment before saying, ¨Oh what the heck, me too.¨  
  
Keith was the only one left, and he wasn`t too excited about the idea. ¨We should ask Allura if she want`s to go.¨  
  
¨She´s actually not invited,¨ Ken hung up and put the phone in his pocket. ¨Knowing her, she wouldn´t want to go to this club, so Devon called to invite us for a guy´s night out.¨  
  
¨Besides, she`s not feeling too well and taking a nap.¨ Lance added.  
  
¨I don´t think we shoud leave Allura alone if she´s sick,¨ Keith insisted.  
  
Lance shook his head, ¨Being here´s not gonna help her very much, she´s in bed and in a stubborn mood.¨   
  
¨Do I sense a lover´s tiff?¨ Ken teased  
  
¨Something like that,¨ Lance shrugged and headed to the door, ¨So are we leaving or what?¨  
  
Pidge and Hunk begged and insisted that Keith went until they managed to get him to agree. ¨But we won´t be out too long okay?¨  
  
¨Fine,¨ Hunk said as he put on his shoes and joined the others at the door.  
  
¨Isn´t someone going to tell her where we´ll be?¨ Keith asked, looking at Lance who shrugged.  
  
¨I´ll leave her a note on the door,¨ he told them to go ahead as he went upstairs and left it, Hunk and Ken went for the elevaor.  
  
¨Alright!¨ Pidge followed eagerly anticipating a night on the town.  
  
Keith waited for Lance and was the last one out, locking the doors just in case. [I´m still not sure about this, Allura might need some help...]   
  
  
  
***********  
  
  
  
[No way! I can´t believe they´d all leave me like this!] Allura stepped out of her room, clutching Lance´s note in one hand.   
  
¨Hello? Keith? Guys?!¨ she called out as loudly as her aching throat would allow.   
  
[Liz was right, I can´t believe how sick I got with such a small soaking] She shivered and pulled the robe tighter around her. She´d put on Lance´s when she couldn´t find hers and sniffled as she smelled his familiar cologne. [He must have been really mad at me, or he wouldn`t have left like that.]  
  
Leaning against a wall weakly, she hesitated, trying to figure out what to do. Finally deciding on a bath, she made her way slowly to the bathroom. Not bothering with the lights, she turned on the water of the tub. As soon as it was filled, she dropped the robe to the floor and struggled to take off her t-shirt for a few moments before giving up and slipping into the tub fully dressed.  
  
[Oh well, the clothes will dry, and I`m so HOT!!!] Dunking beeneath the surface, she smiled as she felt the water cool her heated body, ignoring her slight shivering. Re-surfacing, she sighed and lay on her side, vaguely noticing the sound of the phone ringing before0 falling into a deep sleep.  
  
  
  
  
***********  
  
  
  
  
¨This place is great!¨ Hunk yelled into Keith´s ear as he ordered another drink.  
  
Pidge, Devon, Lance, and Ken were all on the dance floor with some girls that Devon had introduced them to.   
  
¨Yeah, great¨ Keith mumbled, staring down at his half-full bottle. [I wonder how Allura is?] Getting up, he yelled into Hunk´s ear, ¨I´ll be right back, I´m going to the bathroom.¨  
  
¨Ok!¨ Hunk turned his attention back to the girl across the room he´d been flirting with.  
  
[How did I get dragged into this mess? I honestly thought Lance would act decently with Allura and not leave her at home to party like this. I swear he´s such an inconsiderate jerk sometimes, especially when he gets mad at someone.] Keith made his way out to a small garden in the back of the club where couples went to make out and moved into a shadow, pulling out his cell phone and dialing the apartment.  
  
[Come on Allura, pick up!] He waited until it rang five times before hanging up and trying again. Another five rings and still nothing.  
  
[Something´s wrong, where the heck could she be?] Keith hung up and hurried inside, making his way to their table, he was relieved that the guys had gone to sit and pulled Lance aside.  
  
¨Something happened to Allura!¨ he yelled into his ear.  
  
¨Nah! She´s just asleep!¨ Lance turned away for a moment, surprised when Keith gripped his arm and forced him to turn back.  
  
¨Get your stuff, we´re going home.¨ Keith´s expression and voice were set in a no-arguing manner and Lance rolled his eyes.  
  
¨You´re over-reacting! I´m sure she´s fine!¨   
  
Pidge, noticing Keith´s serious expression, realized something must be wrong and began to excuse himself. Hunk quickly followed suit and picked up the other´s jackets as he stood. The girls whined and asked them to stay, but both denied and told Ken and Devon they´d see them later.  
  
¨Its past two in the morning and we have early plans today so we really must go, nice to meet you though.¨ Pidge turned away and pulled the car keys out of Keith´s jacket as they met up with them.   
  
¨What´s up? Are we going or what?¨ Hunk handed them their jackets and followed them out.  
  
¨Yeah, you know Keith, always worrying,¨ Lance grumbled as he unlocked the doors and climbed into the driver´s seat.  
  
¨If Allura hadn´t been sick when we left I wouldn´t be worried, but she´s not picking up the phone.¨ Keith explained as he tried to call again.   
  
¨Think she went somewhere?¨ Pidge asked skeptically.  
  
¨If she did, its probably to see whoever it was that called,¨ Lance mumbled.  
  
¨Yeah, who did call?¨ Hunk suddenly remembered hearing the phone ring while he talked to Liz earlier.  
  
¨Who knows!¨ Lance made a turn too quickly and laughed as they crashed into each other in the backseat.  
  
¨Hey watch it!¨ Pidge yelled from beneath Hunk.  
  
¨So sorry,¨ Lance grinned, becoming serious as they neared their building. [Good thing Devon´s so nearby.]  
  
Entering the elevator, they stayed quiet and waited to arrive. Keith was obviously worried, making Pidge and Hunk worry a bit too. He suddenly snapped at Lance, ¨I can´t believe how you were acting back there!¨  
  
Lance glanced around innocently,¨What´d I do?¨  
  
¨The way you danced with that girl was...¨ Keith was cut off as Lance laughed.  
  
¨Fun, I had some fun.¨  
  
¨While your wife`s sick in bed at home.¨ Keith continued.  
  
Lance huffed, ¨She´s not my real wife Keith, none of that faithfulness crap applies to us.¨  
  
¨Really? I can´t imagine Allura thinking the same,¨ Keith bit back.  
  
Lance raised an uncertain eyebrow at him, ¨Oh yeah? Then how do you explain her ´mysetrious caller?´ You honestly think she wouldn´t tell me if a girlfriend of hers called? No, it was a guy, and someone she doesn´t want me to know about so obviously...¨  
  
¨There´s no obviously about it Lance, I´m sure she´ll explain if you give her some time.¨ Keith quieted down as the elevator stopped and he opened the door, calling out Allura´s name.   
  
All the lights were out, upstairs and down, Lance giving him an ´I told you so´ look as he stood outside his room. ¨She´s asleep.¨  
  
¨Yeah, fine, good night.¨ Keith ignored him and went to his room. Hunk and Pidge did the same, softly whispering about the club on their way.  
  
Noticing the note was gone from the door, Lance quietly entered the room and shut the door behind him. Turning to look at the bed, he was surprised to find it rumpled and empty. [What the...?]  
  
He went over to his side and dropped his jacket on a pile of pillows. Taking off his shoes, he went into the closet and noticed the door to the bathroom was open and his robe was strewn across the floor. [What´s my robe doing in the...] He froze in the doorway as he took in the sight before him.  
  
Allura lay curled on her side in the filled bathtub, fully dressed, shivering, and breathing heavily. Snapping out of it, Lance hurried over and knelt beside her, cursing as he touched the water and found it was ice cold. Feeling a breeze, he looked up and cursed again as he saw the window a few feet away was open.   
  
¨Oh god Allie,¨ Lance felt guilt flood him as he touched her burning forehead and she whimpered, curling up tighter in the water. [I can´t believe I left you alone, I was so mad you wouldn´t tell me... what a stupid thing to be angry about!] He slipped his hands into the water and lifted her into his arms.   
  
Laying her down on the fuzzy rug, he quickly began taking off her soaked clothes. Using the closest thing to cover her, he wrapped her in his robe and carried her to bed, piling a bunch of blankets over her and grabbed the phone to call Tony.  
  
¨Hello?¨ A groggy Liz answered.   
  
¨Hey Liz, its Lance, you said there was a doctor living in the building when we moved in, but do you have his phone number?¨ Lance sat beside Allura, wincing as she whimpered again.   
  
¨A doctor? Why? What happened?¨ Liz was immediately alert, waking up Tony and turning on the light as she grabbed her planner.  
  
¨Allura´s sick, really, really sick, but I don´t want to take her out this late.¨ Lance left her for a moment to take off his wet shirt and grabbed a small towel from the bathroom to make a compress for her hot forehead.  
  
¨I´ll call the doctor and be up in a moment, you try to keep her warm and just wait ok?¨ Liz didn´t wait for his answer before hanging up and calling the doctor.  
  
Lance set down the phone and sighed, noticing her wet hair, he went for a towel to wrap it in and apologized as he did. ¨I´m so sorry for leaving you like that Allie, I´m seriously SO SORRY! Keith was right, I can´t believe I was such a jealous jerk. But you see, that´s just it, I was jealous because I know it was a guy who called and when you wouldn´t tell me who he was...¨   
  
He left her side for a moment as he heard the doorbell ring and stepped out of the room to tell Keith what was going on. When he came back in, she was awake and struggling to sit up.  
  
¨Allie how do you feel?¨ Lance was back at her side in a moment and waiting for an answer when a new voice came from the doorway.  
  
¨Young lady, you lie back down this instant!¨ An older gentleman holding a medical bag in hand shook his head at her and asked Lance to help her lay down.  
  
Looking him over, Lance smiled, thinking that everyone who met him probably did the same. He was the kind of person who made a person feel calm and want to smile. Standing at about 5´8¨ with white hair, a small bald spot at the back of his head, and a slightly rounded tummy, his bright grey eyes gave a person a sense of warmth and security.  
  
¨Dr Mead?¨ she asked weakly when he was standing by her side.  
  
¨Yes my dear, get some rest, I´m here.¨ Dr Mead nodded and pushed her hair out of her eyes as she blinked against the feverish sleep tugging at her.  
  
Feeling hands holding her arms, Allura followed them until she was met with a pair of worried brown eyes. ¨Lance?¨  
  
¨Yeah Allie, I´m here, and I´m sor...¨ he stopped when she lifted her hands to weakly clutch at his shirt and leaned her head in the crook of his neck.  
  
¨Promise not to let go?¨ she whispered as her eyes closed, losing the struggle to stay awake.  
  
Lance gulped as he remembered how he´d left her earlier that night and tightened his hold, fogetting anyone else in the room. ¨I promise¨ he whispered, feeling her sigh and lean against him fully as she fell asleep.  
  
Dr Mead noticed the crowd that had formed behind him and asked everyone else to go back to bed or leave the room so he could check her over, closing the doors after them. Turning back to the young man holding the sleeping princess, he smiled at the tender sight the couple made.  
  
¨You´re gonna have to let her go for a few moments so I can find out what´s wrong.¨ He watched as Lance gently lay her down and stepped away.  
  
He examined her closely before finally settling the blanket around her and faced Lance, ¨She´s caught a bad case of influenza, but she´ll be all right if she gets enough rest. Keep her in bed for at least two days, that´s AT LEAST, I know her, she´ll want to get up sooner but don´t let her. I´ll leave some medicine, which she needs to take every six hours.¨  
  
¨Right, but she´ll be fine?¨ Lance glanced at her, relieved.  
  
¨Yes, try not to upset her and don´t leave her alone. I´ll check in the day after tomorrow to see how she´s doing.¨ Dr Mead yawned and picked up his bag.   
  
¨Thank you for coming so late doctor, I...¨ Lance was interrupted as Dr Mead raised a hand and shook his head.  
  
¨There´s no need to thank me, I´m always on call and it wasn´t a very long trip from my apartment downstairs. Just make sure NOT to leave her alone again.¨ he added sternly.  
  
¨I won´t,¨ Lance glanced back at her before escorting the doctor into the tv room where everyone else was waiting. Pidge and Hunk sat on the small sofa, Liz lay across the larger one with her head in Tony´s lap, and Keith was standing behind one of the individual seats.  
They all snapped out of their thoughts as Dr Mead explained about Allura and that she´d be fine in a couple of days.  
  
Noticing Liz yawn sleepily, he scolded her for being out so late and insisted that they all go back to bed. Tony quickly agreed and argued with Liz for a few minutes while she insisted on seeing Allura. When Dr Mead shook his head and explained it wasn´t a good idea for many people to be going in to see her, she reluctantly gave in and wished everyone a good night as they went home.   
  
Hunk and Pidge were easier to convince and quickly went back to their rooms, Keith walked the doctor to the door while Lance went back into his room and then caught up with him there.  
  
Lance was sitting beside her, shoulders slumped and a strange expression on his face as he watched the sleeping princess. As Keith sat on the opposite side of the bed, Lance spoke up softly.  
  
¨I can´t believe I left her like that,¨ he winced as she whimpered and sighed when he put the cold compress to her forehead. ¨She was practically begging me to stay before I went downstairs and agreed to go out with Ken, but I was stupidly mad because of her phone call and I left her.¨  
  
Keith remained quiet for a few moments before replying, ¨Why is her hair wet?¨  
  
Lance slumped even more as he answered, ¨I found her in a tub of cold water.¨  
  
¨Cold water?¨ Keith finally noticed Allura was wearing Lance´s bathrobe and shook his head angrily. ¨I can´t believe I let you convince me to leave her alone, since when do I listen to you guys? I can´t believe I was so irresponsible!¨  
  
He lowered his voice as he added, ¨That´s always been your role.¨  
  
¨The irresponsible one?¨ Lance chuckled sadly and suddenly wondered how many other people he´d let down with his irresponsibility.   
  
¨Yep,¨ Keith yawned and hesitantly stood, ¨Are you sure you can watch her? I can stay...¨  
  
¨I´m sure Keith, good night.¨ Lance watched as he nodded and headed to his room, closing the doors quietly behind him.  
  
Feeling the events of the day catching up to him, Lance sighed and went into the bathroom to wash his face with cold water to wake himself up. Going back to the room, he sat on his side of the bed and watched Allura sleep for a while, until he couldn´t hold out any longer and lay down beside her under the covers.   
  
Just as he was falling asleep, he felt her scoot over, seeking out his warmth. Wrapping his arms around her, Lance held her tightly against the length of him, ignoring the fact that he was sweating because of all the blankets over them. Gradually, as he used an arm to stroke her back and arms soothingly, he felt her trembling still and her body relax, easing into a deep sleep.  
  
He slept fitfully, uncomfortable because of the heat and the weight of his guilt. At one point, Allura moaned against his shoulder and squirmed closer to him as if seeking shelter from a nightmare. Shifting to accomodate her, Lance inwardly groaned as he felt the robe she was wearing open and her silky leg slipped between his, her arm wrapped around him tightened and part of her chest touched him. Feeling his body respond, he gulped and struggled for control as she moaned again and squirmed closer.  
  
[I know I deserve some type of punishment for leaving her, but did it have to be THIS?!] Lance felt her sigh, her breath tickling his neck and bit his lip to keep from whimpering.  
  
[She´s sick... She´s off limits... She´s sick... She´s off limits... Oh God, no man deserves this...]   
  
***********  
  
^_^   
  
Hope you liked this chapter, sorry for the long wait between updates. I´m going to be busy for a while with my other stories and school, but I will finish this!   
  
Leave me a review and let me know what you think!  
  
~ K.C. ~ 


	9. Weekend away 10

Title: Friendship  
  
  
~ Lyrics  
" " Speaking  
[] Thoughts  
***********  
  
  
"Thanks," Allura smiled and took the package from Hunk, going upstairs to her room to change.   
  
[Wonder what it is] She shook the box close to her ear, noticing it sounded like a lot of small things. [Whatever they are, they´re definitely not heavy]   
  
Sitting on her bed, she took the last bite of her cookie and read the short note taped to the box.   
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Dear Allie & Lance,   
Just a gift for your anniversary,   
hope you enjoy!  
  
love, Maru.  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
"How sweet!"  
  
Allura quickly ripped the tape holding it closed and turned the box over to dump the contents on her bed.   
  
"OH MY GOD!" she quickly picked the small packages up and threw them back in the box, closing it again and running into the closet to hid it.  
  
"What?!" Lance came into the room wearing a towel he´d quickly wrapped around his waist. "Allie?"  
  
She came out of the closet and blushed as she noticed his state of undress. "Sorry, go back to your shower, everything´s fine."  
  
"Or it will be as soon as I call Maru," she mumbled under her breath.  
  
"Are you sure? What made you..." Lance noticed her blushing and wondered why. [She´s seen me shirtless before]  
  
"Nothing, I just remembered I have to call Maru about something. You go back to your shower." She smiled to re-assure him and ran out of the room to call Maru from downstairs.  
  
"Women!" Lance sighed and went back into the bathroom to get dressed.  
  
Downstairs, Allura grabbed the phone from the living room and went into the music room, where she was never disturbed. Dialing quickly, she was relieved that Maru answered the phone.  
  
(M) "Hello?"   
  
"You evil brat! How COUld you?!" Allura flopped down in her favorite chair and heard Maru laugh.  
  
(M) "I thought you might need them, who knows if you´ve been good."   
  
(A) "I assure you, if I needed those items, I´d have bought them myself!"   
  
(M) "Or made him buy them right? So how go things?"   
  
(A) "Ok, we´re enjoying ourselves, all of us, and I saw Cassie yesterday. We might go out with her and her fiancée, but you wouldn´t believe who it is."  
  
(M) "Who?"  
  
(A) "Mick Delaney"  
  
(M) "No way! How?!"  
  
(A) "I don´t know, but I´m not sure about what I should do. Do I tell her what a horrible person her husband-to-be is or do I keep quiet and watch her make the worst mistake of her life?"  
  
(M) "Tell her, I´d want you to tell me."  
  
(A) "I know, its the right thing to do, but if I tell her I´ll have to explain about before and..."  
  
(M) "I thought you were over that."  
  
(A) "I thought so too."  
  
(M) "How´s your husband? Being good?"  
  
(A) "He´s great, I´m really happy actually, and I don´t think I´ve ever slept so well in my life."   
  
(M) "You mean you actually sleep? I thought for sure you´d be busy having fun."  
  
(A) "Fun?"  
  
(M) "YOU KNOW!"  
  
(A) "NO! I have not had any of that kind of fun, and I remind you that I will NEVER have that kind of fun becuase..."  
  
(M) "Yeah I know, but you should really try it sometime."  
  
(A) "Wait a minute, have you been having fun?"  
  
(M) "Maybe"  
  
(A) "Maru! I can´t believe you! Although of course I can´t blame you."  
  
(M) "Of course not."  
  
(A) "I´m actually surprised you took so long."  
  
(M) "Yeah well, you know how things have been, but now that we´re engaged..."  
  
Allura laughed, "I know and I´m happy for you both."  
  
With her back to the doorway, she didn´t notice Lance, who´d come to tell her lunch was ready. He stopped as he heard her laugh.  
  
"Although its not fair that I´m the married one and YOU get all the action." She laughed again and shook her head. "No I´m not saying that I would sleep with him, although he is cute and all... Ken!"   
  
[Ken?] Lance knocked on the door and called her name, "Lunch is ready."  
  
"Okay!" she turned and told him she´d be right there. "I´ve gotta go Mar, I´ll call you... my anniversary?"  
  
(M) "Yeah what are your plans?"  
  
Allura shrugged, "I don´t think we´re doing anything, I mean, I know Lance remembers because he told Mick about it yesterday but he hasn´t mentioned any plans."   
  
"The sandwhiches are getting cold you guys!" Hunk stuck his head in the living room and yelled.  
  
"Coming!" Allura laughed and quickly said her good-byes to Maru. Leaving the phone in its place she walked beside Lance to the kitchen where Hunk was sitting down.   
  
"Cold sandwhiches?" Lance smirked.  
  
"The recipe says they´re to be eaten warm," Hunk explained, "So what are you guys gonna do tonight?"  
  
"Nothing," Lance turned to Allie, "Is there something you´d like to do or somewhere you´d like to go?"  
  
"No, I´d been thinking about going to visit Jennie at the hospital," she took a bite and smiled in approval at Hunk.  
  
"Well I´m going to the gym after lunch and I have a date tonight so I won´t be back early." he took another bite of his sandwhich.  
  
"With Tanya?" Lance asked  
  
Hunk nodded and checked his watch. Hurrying to finish his sandwhich, he left them there, excusing himself. "I have to hurry or I won´t make it to her work on time. See you later!"  
  
"Bye Hunk! Thanks!" Allura sighed and finished her sandwhich.  
  
She and Lance finished and cleaned up in silence, finally broken when Lance asked. "So what was that about Ken? You mentioned him when I went to tell you about lunch."  
  
Allura blushed again, "Nothing."  
  
"Really?" Lance gave her a disbelieving look but dropped the subject.   
  
"What do you want to do?" he asked once the dishes were washed and put away.  
  
"I really don´t know," Allura walked with him upstairs and picked up a magazine from the table as they sat in the tv room. Flipping through it, she sighed as she saw a picture of a beach house.  
  
"This looks like fun," she showed it to Lance.  
  
He took the magazine, "You want to go to the beach?"  
  
"Yeah, we haven´t gone yet," Allura picked up the phone as it rang.  
  
(A) "Hey Cassie! How are you?"  
  
(C) "Fine, just wanted to see what you guys are doing tomorrow so we could go out."  
  
(A) "Nothing as of yet, we were commenting of how much fun it would be to go to the beach."  
  
(C) "Yeah! Want to go? Mick has a nice two-bedroom, waterfront beach house not too far from the city. We could leave early tomorrow and spend the weekend there."  
  
Allura hesitated, "Hold on, let me put you on speakerphone so Lance can listen and give his opinion."  
  
She clicked the phone into speaker mode and hung up the reciever. Lance and Cassie said their hello´s and then went over the idea of the beach house.   
  
"Sounds like fun, I´d be up for it." Lance looked at Allie, wondering how she felt about the idea.  
  
"Me too," she said.  
  
Cassie could be heard opening a notebook, "Great! Then here´s what we´ll do. I´ll drop by your apartment tomorrow morning at... about eleven. We´ll go from there to pick up Mick at his office because he has to drop off some paperwork, and then go to the beach."   
  
"All right, then we´ll see you tomorrow Cassie," Lance kept his eyes on Allura.  
  
"Sure thing, bye!" Cassie quickly hung up.  
  
Allura hung up also and bit her lip nervously. Lance watched for a moment quietly before asking what was the matter.  
  
"I´m gonna need a bathing suit," she smiled and stood, holding out her hand. "Come shopping with me?"  
  
"Sure," Lance set down the magazine as he got up, taking hold of her hand as they went downstairs and picked up his keys.   
  
During the car ride, Allura seemed more cheerful and sang along loudly to the radio. Since the mall she liked was across town, they took a while to arrive and she´d decided where she was going to buy the suit by the time they parked.   
  
"There´s that store that sells all those sports outfits and has both men´s and women´s suits."   
  
"I have a bathing suit!" Lance protested.  
  
"Not a decent one, and believe me, you have to have the best." Allura smiled, "Wouldn´t want my husband out-done by Cassie´s fiancée."  
  
"Who cares about that?" Lance whined.  
  
"Me and Cassie," Allura dragged him to the store and over to the men´s department. They picked out a few suits before he went to try them on.  
  
Being in as good shape as he was, Allura wasn´t surprised when all the suits looked good on him. They eliminated a dark blue one because of the color and a yellow one because it was too bright.   
  
"Green or Red?" Lance asked, wearing the green one.   
  
"Green," Allura decided, forcing herself not to focus on his lean chest and marked abs. [Just think of... anything but his body!]   
  
"Green it is then... are you sure?" Lance asked, looking into a mirror.  
  
"And you say women are picky shoppers!" Allura laughed and came over to see him in the mirror. [Wow]   
  
"I just don´t know if the green´s a good choice," Lance explained.  
  
Allura nodded, "Look, you have great eyes, which look even sexier when contrasted with the dark green. It accentuates the green specks in them."  
  
Lance gave a sly grin, "They look even what?"  
  
Allura caught her mistake and gave him a playful glare in the mirror, "Don´t get any ideas buddy."  
  
"But you just said..." he smiled and pulled her in front of him, wrapping his arms around her as he rested his chin on her shoulder and saw her smile.  
  
"I didn´t mean it," she was saved as the saleslady came over to them.  
  
"Finally decided on the green?" she asked, smiling as she saw what a cute couple they made. [Must be newlyweds] she thought as she noticed their rings.  
  
"Yes, he´ll take the green." Allura stepped away and Lance nodded as he went into the changing room.  
  
"Would you like to see any suits for yourself?" the young lady asked.  
  
"Actually, yes, we came here for a suit for me and suddenly decided he´d need one too." Allura followed her over to the women´s section and was being shown some of the most popular models when Lance caught up with them.  
  
"I´ll take this to the cashier and leave you to choose," the lady took the suit from Lance and did as she´d said.  
  
"What do you think?" Allura asked, holding up a black, one-piece suit.   
  
Lance gave it a sweeping glance and raised his eyebrow at her, "You´re joking right?"  
  
"No!" Allura pouted and looked at the suit in her hand, "What´s wrong with it?"  
  
"Its not you," Lance took it away and began walking through the aisles, pulling out suits as he found them.  
  
He came back with five suits and handed them over to her, "Go try these on."  
  
"But they´re all bikini´s!" Allura whined.  
  
"Exactly, if I´ve gotta out-do Mick, I can´t let my wife be out-done by Cassie." He pushed her towards the nearby dressing room and closed the curtain after her.  
  
"But I don´t want to be half-naked in front of him, that´s exactly why I wanted a new suit! I already have a bikini remember?" Allura said, sticking her head out to look for another suit.  
  
"The only one who´s coming anywhere near you is me Ally, and if I have to look sexier, so do you." He grinned as she blushed and stuck her head back in.  
  
A few moments later, she stuck her head back out and motioned for him to come over.   
  
"There´s no way we´ll both fit in that little booth Allie, come out," Lance said.  
  
After a slight hesitation, Allura came out, wearing a red bikini. It was a simple model, just plain red with a small bow in between the cups of the bra. The color, however, didn´t suit Allura.  
  
She tried on three more, one green, one black, and a pink one. "I am not buying another pink suit," Allura told him when he told her to take that one.  
  
"But the color looks really good on you," Lance said, making an effort not to gape. Being a halter top suit, the spagetti straps looked really good, both on the top and the bottom, where they tied on either side of her hips.  
  
He noticed a salesman a few aisles down had stopped putting suits away to stare and told her to quickly change. Allura tried on the last suit, another halter top with spaghetti straps, but it was a bright blue which also brought out the color of her eyes.  
  
"That´s it!" Lance said, standing in front of the booth to block the view of her, still bothered by the other guy´s staring earlier.  
  
"Are you sure I have to buy a two piece?" Allura asked, noticing how much of her body was exposed.  
  
"Most definitely," Lance grinned and told her to hurry and change so they could go.  
  
Once the suits were paid for, they bought a couple of towels at another store, some suntan lotion, and then wandered around the mall aimlessly.   
  
[What do I give her tomorrow?] Lance wondered, scanning the stores for a gift. Spotting something in a women´s boutique, he was relieved when Allura stopped in front of the pet shop next door.  
  
"Oh how cute!" She went inside to look at the puppies and nodded absently as he told her he was going to the restrooms. "Fine, I´ll stay here!"  
  
He headed out and quickly went into the boutique next door. After talking to the saleslady there and making arrangements, he went to the store she pointed out to him and made more arrangements with the manager there. Once done with his errand, he went back to the pet shop and wasn´t surprised to see Allura waiting for him by the door.  
  
"What took you so long?" she asked.  
  
"I ran into one of the guys from the gym and was caught up talking for a few minutes," he explained, relieved when she accepted the excuse and asked to go home. "Tired?"  
  
"Yeah," Allura walked towards the parking lot and was quiet during the ride home. [How can I tell Cassie about Mick?]   
  
They arrived home and put away their stuff, packing a bag for their weekend away. Allura checked the answering machine and was annoyed to find a message from Mick about the trip. He had called to tell them not to worry about towels, beach chairs, or any of that because they had it at the apartment, also food and restaurants nearby.   
  
Allura made a face and erased the message, jumping when Lance asked from behind her, "What´d he do?"  
  
"What´d he do?" she repeated.  
  
"Mick, during your last vacation," he noticed her shiver and wrapped her in his arms. "What was it?"  
  
Allura felt his warmth and sighed as she leaned against him, "I can´t tell you, I´m sorry but..."  
  
"Why?" he asked, annoyed by her hesitation.  
  
"Because I can´t," Allura whispered, "Because I don´t want to lose you too."  
  
"Lose me? Who else did you lose?" Lance wondered.  
  
"Teddy" Allura answered, "I told him about what happened and he left."  
  
Lance frowned, "I thought you said he was your best friend?"  
  
"He was, but he was raised with a different mind set, we´re total opposites. I thought he´d help me when I told him, but he changed completely and then the war got worse..." she sighed and closed her eyes.   
  
"I was wondering why he hadn´t called," Lance shrugged and pulled back to look at her, "But you should know better than to think I´d leave you too Allie. I´m sure whatever it was won´t change my mind about you."  
  
Allura looked up at him surprised, noticing the sincerity in his eyes with a smile, "Thanks Lance, that means a lot."   
  
"So?" he waited for an answer and wasn´t surprised when she changed the subject.   
  
"We´d better go to bed early if we´re going at nine instead of eleven, we´ll have to get up around eight." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before going to change into her pj´s.  
  
"Its barely seven thirty!" Lance yelled.  
  
"So we´ll watch a movie!" Allura yelled back, changing quickly.  
  
[I´ll find out somehow] Lance went into their room to change out of his jeans.  
  
  
***********  
  
  
"Nice car," Lance told Cassie as he put their bag in the trunk.  
  
"Thanks, that´s all you´re taking?" she asked.  
  
"Just a bag for both of us," Lance said, putting away a smaller one that Allura didn´t notice.  
  
Cassie nodded and closed the trunk as Allura kissed the others good-bye. "Take care of yourselves, no wild parites, and have fun."  
  
"What´s the fun if we can´t throw a wild party while you´re away?" Pidge joked.  
  
"Exactly, wild parties are more fun with me there," Allura winked, "You´d be surprised."  
  
"I´m sure we would," Pidge agreed.  
  
"Take care prin- Allie," Keith saw her roll her eyes a bit but still smile at him. He shrugged, "Old habits die hard!"  
  
"I know, bye!" Allura hopped into the convertible, noticing Lance had left her the front seat so she could talk with her friend.  
  
They picked up Mick and then headed out to the beach. It was an hour and a half drive and Allura was delighted to see that the beach was a few miles outside of a small village. As they drove through, they saw that it was being set up for a celebration.   
  
"Its their yearly festival, at night there´s a huge bonfire in the center of the village and they dance and sing. Its been a tradition here for centuries, although before the dances were a bit more ceremonial, they asked for good weather and no terrible storms." Mick explained.  
  
"Sounds like fun!" Allura said, noticing all the happy people.  
  
"We could come tonight if you´d like," he offered  
  
"Yeah!" Allura and Cassie said, sitting back as they left the village.  
  
They arrived at the beach house twenty minutes later and were recieved by an older lady who´d been waiting for them.   
  
"I hope your drive was pleasant, Mr Delany told us yesterday to prepare the house for guests."   
  
Mick smiled, "I know I can always count on you Mrs Yvonne."  
  
Allura stared at the lady as she heard him say her name, "Mrs Yvonne?"   
  
"Yes dear?" the lady smiled, suddenly looking at her wide-eyed as she recognized her, "Its you! Oh little miss how are you?!"  
  
"Fine, I´m just fine, oh Mrs Yvonne its so good to see you!" Allura hugged her and was surprised when the old lady started crying.  
  
"What´s the matter?" Lance asked.  
  
"I was just so worried about my little one, you were completely out of place in that..." Mrs Yvonne was cut off by Mick.  
  
"Where´s Cristine?" his tone of voice was cold and he gave her a look.  
  
"Oh yes, Cristine went to the village for the festival, she hadn´t taken a day off this week to be able to attend. Since you called so late last night, it broke my heart to tell her she couldn´t go after she´d been so excited so I let her go early this morning." Mrs Yvonne excused herself and went inside the house.  
  
Lance looked at Allura, wondering what the woman had been about to say when Mick cut her off. To his surprise, the princess looked kind of pale and had tears in her eyes as she watched the older lady go inside. When he put his arm around her shoulder, she snapped out of her thoughts and turned to smile at him.  
  
"What do you think of the house?" she asked  
  
"It looks pretty nice," he said, looking over the small building. He turned to the beach and noticed there were two levels, meaning there was a small overhang a few yards away from the house and a lower beach below.  
  
The house itself, was actually quite interesting if you took in the triangular shape of the upper floors. Going inside, they were impressed by the large windows looking out to the ocean. The living room was small but well furnished with bamboo furniture and a nice glass coffee table. Beside it was the cozy little dinning room with a small table with four chairs, also bamboo. To the right of that was the kitchen and the stairs for the second and third floors.  
  
On each floor was a large bedroom, the first decorated in white and light blue, with small shells and sea animals as decoration on the walls and furniture. The second room was more darkly furnished, with a black bedroom set and maroon sheets and blankets. Only a few decorations were spread about the room and unlike all the other windows, the ones in the top room were tinted, making the room even darker.  
  
"You guys will be in the first bedroom, and we´ll sleep in the darker one," Cassie told them as she took her bag up to her room.  
  
"That´s fine," Allura smiled, relieved not to be sleeping in the dark room.  
  
After unpacking their stuff, they sat down to a quick lunch before beginning to make plans.   
  
"So what do you guys want to do?" Mick asked, noticing Allura leaning into Lance on the sofa. He had his arm around her shoulders and her back rested against his side.   
  
"You know, the sun´s perfect for getting a tan," Cassie said, coming out of the kitchen with a couple of beers.   
  
"What do you say Allie?" she asked, handing one to her.  
  
"Sounds great," Allura stood with the beer in hand and excused herself to go change into her swimsuit.  
  
"We´d better go change too," Cassie and Mick both went upstairs, Lance left in the living room. Allura came back down and told him to go up and change.   
  
"You´re done?" he said, standing and was surprised when she shook her head and headed up with him.  
  
"But it´d be kind of weird if we, the married couple, didn´t change together don´t you think?" Allura said as she closed the door behind them.  
  
"I guess, so where´s the bathroom?" Lance grabbed his suit and looked around.  
  
"There isn´t one connected to this room," Allura shrugged and picked up his towel, "So we improvise."  
  
She held up the towel over her head behind her, facing the door where there was no mirror. "You change first, you´re faster."  
  
"Okkkk..." Lance kept his t-shirt on, changing into his shorts quickly.  
  
They switched places and Allura changed quickly also, keeping her t-shirt on just in case. When she was done, Lance took both their towels downstairs while Allura fixed her hair into a bun so it wouldn´t be in her way. She met up with him in the living room and they went outside to where Mick and Cassie were waiting, Cassie was sitting on her towel while Mick kicked a soccer ball around.  
  
"Either of you up for a game?" he asked  
  
"I´m in," Lance handed her the towels and was surprised to see she´d brought the beer with her. "You are not drinking that."  
  
"Oh really?" Allura arched an eyebrow at him, her eyes sparkling mischievously.  
  
"Now you´ve done it!" Cassie laughed.  
  
"Nah, its not worth the trouble of fighting with him," Allura spread her towel on the sand and dropped his next to it. "Especially when he´s right, I´m not drinking it."  
  
She opened the beer and poured some into her hand, spreading it evenly over her body. Cassie noticed Lance´s perplexed expression and laughed, "Beer´s a great tanning lotion, didn´t you know?"  
  
"Never heard of such a thing," he shrugged and followed Mick a few yards away to start up the match.  
  
They played two rounds of soccer, one of volleyball, and threw a disk back and forth while the girls tanned. After getting tired of staying on the beach, they used the excuse of leaving their glasses on the towels to sneak up on the sleeping girls and give them a rude awakening.  
  
"Don´t you dare!" Allura wrapped her arms around Lance´s neck almost painfully as he ran with her into the water.  
  
"You´ve been lying around long enough you bum," he laughed as she tried to avoid the water as much as possible. Once in deep enough, he leaned back and dunked himself and her into the water completely.  
  
Allura released him and gasped for air, wiping salt water out of her eyes to glare at her laughing husband. "That was so mean Lance! I didn´t want to get wet!"  
  
"Then why come to the beach?" he laughed and pulled her close as he saw her teeth chattering. Her arms snaked around his chest and her head settled beneath his chin as she rested her cheek over his heartbeat.  
  
"The water´s freezing," she shivered as a colder undercurrent swept over them and pressed closer to him for warmth.   
  
"You´ll get warmer if you swim," Lance felt her shake her head and sighed, "Come on, you´re only going to freeze if we stay like this."   
  
"I wouldn´t be freezing if you hadn´t brought me in here," Allura looked up at him with a pout.  
  
"Sorry for thinking you looked overly warm lying there under the hot sun," Lance glanced at Mick and Cassie and saw that Cassie had smacked him upside the head and was on the beach again drying herself with her towel. Mick wasn´t smiling as he turned to look at the couple a few yards farther into the water.  
  
Before Allura could complain any more, he leaned down and gave her a quick kiss, smiling as he pulled away and asked her to swim with him. Allura smiled back and agreed since she was already there. Noticing Mick was coming over to them, she stepped back, slipping one of her hands into his.   
  
"Why´d Cassie get out?" she asked calmly.  
  
"She´s not much for swimming, just tanning," he glanced in her direction to see her lying face down on her towel.  
  
"That´s a shame, the water´s not that bad," Allura turned away from both of them and moved further into the water to where her toes barely touched bottom.   
  
"You´re lucky to have her you know," Mick watched as Allura smiled and dunked under water.  
  
"I know," Lance noticed the hungry look in Mick´s eyes as he watched her and felt a strange uneasiness form in the pit of his stomach.   
  
"Shall we join her?" Mick smiled and headed in her direction.  
  
Lance nodded and was about to follow when Cassie called out from the beach. Being closest, he turned and went closer to hear what she said, glancing back at Allura and Mick uncomfortably when he followed her up to the beach house.  
  
"Thanks Lance, Mrs Yvonne said she´d make us lunch but its too heavy for her to carry and too much for me to carry alone." Cassie smiled and handed him a towel, leading the way.  
  
"Its no problem, I just hope they don´t wonder where we went," Lance said as they went up the steps to the upper part of the beach.   
  
  
***********  
  
  
Gotta end the chapter there - I hope to have the next one up much sooner, but my computer´s busted so I have little time to type at school. Hope you liked the chapter - see you soon!  
  
Don´t forget to review!  
  
- K.C. - 


	10. Anniversary

Title: Friendship  
~ Lyrics  
" " Speaking  
[] Thoughts  
***********  
  
Allura sighed as she felt the small waves moving beneath her, she lay floating face-up with her arms beneath her head for support. [This isn´t so bad, even IF we had to come with Mick]   
  
She was thinking of how nice it had felt to be pressed against Lance earlier when she felt a pair of arms snake around her waist and pull her up against a muscular body. She was about to smile when she was pulled down behind a nearby buoy and a hand covered her mouth, the other lifting to one of her breasts.   
  
"So you didn´t miss me even a little?" his voice was low and teasing as his fingers eased beneath her top.  
  
Her hands struggled to pull him away as she tried to kick him, shaking her head frantically. Allura knew he could feel her body trembling and hated herself for the panick she felt. [Lance where are you?!]  
  
"That´s such a shame..." his hand slid out of her bathing suit and down along her body.   
  
The hand over her mouth let her go and held her arms to her sides as he pulled her deeper into the water so she could barely breathe, much less scream, as only her nose and eyes were left out of the water.  
  
"... I´ve definitely missed you."   
  
Allura closed her eyes against the tears slipping from them and wanted to scream for Lance. [You PROMISED! WHERE ARE YOU?!]  
  
Suddenly Mick let her go and pushed her away, "We´ll have to make up for lost time soon princess, but now isn´t a good moment, you´re dear husband may show up and see us."  
  
"We´re not making up for anything Mick, there´s no way Lance would leave me here with you alone..."  
  
"Like he did just now?" he scoffed and gave her a knowing grin, "If he knew anything about us he wouldn´t even be sharing your apartment anymore, after all, I´m sure he doesn´t know anything about his wife´s sordid little past, does he?"  
  
Allura shook her head, "No."  
  
"I thought so, what decent man would accept a woman like YOU knowing the truth?" He laughed as she turned away and swam for shore.   
  
As soon as she was on the beach, Allura ran to her towel and wrapped it around herself, grabbing her sunglasses to cover her eyes. Hurrying up to the house, she was halfway there when she saw Lance and Cassie coming out with a picnic basket and a cooler. She stopped and waited for them to come to her, forcing her breathing to even and her throat to loosen up a bit.  
  
"Where are you going? We were supposed to have lunch on the beach remember?" Cassie smiled and went past her to the steps leading to where Mick was picking up his towel.   
  
Allura realized she couldn´t hide her shaken up state from Lance as he glared over her shoulder and asked what had happened. She tried to smile but gave up when his eyes seemed to look through her dark glasses and ask for the truth. "Just another unpleasant argument with Mick."  
  
"You used to argue a lot?" he asked as he set the cooler down.  
  
"Yeah," Allura shivered as a memory from old arguments came to mind and turned to him angrily. "Why did you leave? You couldn´t have told me?"  
  
"I´m sorry, Cassie asked for help and you and Mick had gone too far out to hear, I figured we wouldn´t be long, and we weren´t." He stepped directly in front of her and took off her glasses to see her eyes. "What the heck happened? If he did..."  
  
He was cut off as she gave a little sigh and threw her arms around his shoulders, her face burying into his neck. Feeling her trembling only served to make him more sure that Mick had done something to her during the few minutes he´d been away. He held her tight and kissed the side of her head as he felt her trying to calm down. After holding her a few more minutes, they were interrupted by Cassie´s voice calling for them and started pulling away slowly.   
  
"Promise to keep close?" she asked quietly.  
  
"I´m sorry about earlier, I won´t leave you again," he leaned down and meant to give her another quick kiss, but she slid her arms around his neck and leaned up to kiss him back.   
  
"Sorry to interrupt but Cassie´s tired of waiting for the drinks," Mick appeared at the top of the steps and came over to take the cooler, "Don´t take too long."  
  
Allura had pulled away when his voice was heard and she sighed when Lance wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close to him on their way down. Reaching the bottom of the steps, he stopped and leaned down to kiss her again, whispering against her lips, "You´ll explain later."  
  
He saw the worry in her eyes when she pulled away and gave a fake smile as she went to help Cassie set up. Looking over to where Mick was opening the cooler and pulling out a drink, he was bothered by the guy`s casual behavior.   
***********  
After their picnic and another while in the beach, they went up to the house to get cleaned up and get ready for their night at the festival. As soon as he was finished getting dressed, Lance went downstairs and wasn`t surprised to see Mick was done also and watching television.   
  
"Hey," Mick greeted, rolling his eyes as he pointed at the stairs, "Think they`ll be done in time?"  
  
"Allura will," Lance said, sitting in a nearby chair.  
  
"Yeah, unlike Cassie, she knows how to get ready quicky," Mick grinned, "I`d forgotten."  
  
Lance nodded, making sure to sound casual as he spoke, "So you`ve known each other for a long time?"   
  
"Four years, we met on her fourteenth birthday," Mick shrugged, "Pretty long I guess."  
  
"Allura mentioned that birthday, said it wasn`t the greatest," Lance watched Mick carefully.  
  
His eyes took on a mysterious twinkle as he remembered, "Yeah... I guess it could have been better."  
  
"What could have been better?" Allura asked from the stairs.  
  
"Ready so soon?" Lance changed the subject.  
  
"Yep, how do I look?" Allura struck a pose, putting one hand on her hip, the other stretched out to the side with a snobbish `model` look on her face.  
  
"Good," both men answered at the same time looking over her outfit.  
  
She wore a white sweatshirt over her pink bikini top, a white tennis skirt, and tennis shoes with pink laces. Her make up was done lightly, a small amount of soft & shimmery pink eyeshadow, a touch of rouge on her cheeks and her lips shone thanks to her strawberry lip gloss.  
  
After getting their approval, she went over to Lance`s chair to sit on the armrest while they waited for Cassie to come down. After a few minutes she was ready and they were able to go. The girls sat in the backseat, talking excitedly about the festival during the short ride into town.  
Once parked, they headed to the town square where the festivities were taking place. There were all kinds of interesting things going on, a puppet show for the smaller children, a magician, and games.  
  
A stone reader got Cassie`s attention and they all went to see.   
  
The elderly woman was surrounded by people eager to watch as a young lady sat across from her and concentrated on the explanation.  
  
"This figure here means a child in your near future, perhaps you are expecting already..." the reader pointed at another couple of rocks, "But this shows a troubling decision will be involved as well, think wisely about who you choose Marie, only one will stay with you forever."  
  
The young girl nodded and thanked her, moving so that someone else could take her place. The woman looked up at the eager people around her and stopped when she saw the princess.  
  
"You," she pointed at Allura.  
  
"Me? But I was only waiting for my friend..." Allura pointed at Cassie.  
  
"Mm-hmm, I can see yours will have to wait," the woman turned to Cassie, "Very well then, you."  
  
"YAY," Cassie thanked Allura and took her place across from the reader.  
  
The woman picked up the stones and murmured a few words in an ancient arusian toungue before letting them drop before her. "I see... a great pain, very soon... sooner than you`d think."  
  
"Pain?" Cassie paled, staring wide-eyed at the woman.  
  
"Yes, I see... betrayal..." the woman nodded, "A time of great pain before happiness."  
  
Cassie`s eyes lit up, "Happiness? So I wILL be happy?"   
  
"Of course child, you have a good future ahead," the woman smiled.   
  
"Thank you," Cassie stood with a troubled look in her eyes, turning to Mick who led her away from the group assuring her those things were never true.  
  
Allura gulped as her eyes met with the woman`s and she read a silent warning in them. [I`m invovled in that betrayal... oh god please don`t let it be true!]   
  
She and Lance turned away and followed the other couple to where an old man was telling the story of the town and its festivals. They stayed to listen to the stories and afterwords went to eat. The hours seemed to pass quickly as the sun set and a bonfire was set up in the center of the square. Musicians surrounded the fire, playing flutes, drums, a couple had fiddles and spoons, all kinds of simple yet traditional instruments and soon a group of dancers came out and demonstrated the native dances.  
  
The four of them sat in a line on the floor to watch, Lance and Mick on the ends as Allura and Cassie sat between them to talk. The group of dancers was small, consisting of five men and five women, all young and spirited.  
  
"They move so well!" Cassie watched fascinated as they moved their hips and stamped their bare feet on the ground. They stood on their tip toes one instant and then slammed down their heels according to the rhythm.  
  
"Looks like fun," Allura moved her hand to grab her drink and turned to look at Lance briefly as their hands met halfway there.   
  
"Sorry," he grinned and handed her the cup.   
  
[He looks so handsome] Allura was momentarily surprised by the sudden thought, wondering where it had come from as she took it from him and took a sip of the drink they were sharing.   
  
[But its true Allura, be honest with yourself, you find Lance handsome.] She glanced out of the corner of her eye at him and realized it was true. Wearing a pair of black shorts with a casual yellow, button up shirt over them, Lance did look attractive with the shirt slightly open due to the heat. His lightly tanned skin seemed to glow under the firelight which also brought out the natural highlights in his hair. He gave a crooked grin as a girl at the other side of the fire was pulled up by one of the dancers and Allura felt her heart skip a beat, quickly turning her attention forward again.  
  
[No Allie, don`t do this, you CAN`T fall in love with him... you can`t...] But a part of her knew it was too late.   
  
She was brought out of her reverie as Cassie pulled her arm, "Come on girl! We`re gonna learn how to dance!"  
  
"What?" Allura blinked and looked up at the dancer inviting her to join, "I don`t think I should..."  
  
"Go ahead Allie," Lance nudged her, "You`ll have fun."  
  
"Are you sure?" Allura hesitated.  
  
"Of course!" he helped her up and took her shoes from her as she took them off.   
  
For the next ten minutes the female dancers went slowly, showing the group of girls, which consisted of Allura, Cassie, the girl Lance had seen get up and two others, how to move their feet correctly. Cassie and Allura both seemed to get the rhythm right away, the former helping another girl, while one of the male dancers announced it was time for them to show how well they learned.  
  
"The girl we find the most apt during the first half of this piece will be tested by a challenge from myself later on." The young man grinned and signaled for the musicians to start up the music at the regular beat.  
  
A fast-paced fiddle began to play and as the girls followed the steps of the dancer in front of them, the audience smiled and laughed at their mistakes. Lance noticed Cassie take a mis-step or two, losing her concentration from time to time, while Allura focused on the feet before her, ignoring her mistakes to continue with the next step. Finally the music stopped and the young man stepped up with four flowers in hand. He gave one to each girl, except Allura, explaining.  
  
"You get a larger prize if you can keep up with me," he grinned and gave her a wink.  
  
Allura raised an eyebrow at the challenge and smiled.   
  
The music started up again and she was instructed to repeat his steps, keeping her eyes glued on his feet as he moved for a few moments.   
  
After the music stopped, she gave a nod to the musicians and threw her head back, hands going to her hips as she smiled at the dancer, repeating his every move.  
  
The young man then danced again, making his steps more difficult, adding a turn they hadn`t been taught.  
  
Allura managed to follow him perfectly one time after another, after his fifth attempt to confuse her, he gave up and the audience gave a cheer. Allura was prized with a cetire - a thin cloth used by the natives around their waist during the summer to keep cool.  
  
"I have never met someone who picks up on the steps so quickly before, congratulations," the young man said before announcing the next activity they had.  
  
"Thank you," Allura beamed before heading over to her friends. They all congratulated her, Lance handing her their drink as she handed him her prize and sat down. She leaned against him during the rest of their time there and didn`t realize she fell asleep until she felt herself being lifted from the ground.   
  
"Wha-?"   
  
"Shh... go back to sleep," Lance smiled as he followed Cassie and Mick to the car.  
  
"No, I`d rather you set me down," Allura yawned as her feet touched the floor, "But thank you."   
  
"Sure," Lance smiled softly and watched her catch up to the others before following. He was stopped by a hand on his arm and was surprised to see the stone reader at his side.  
  
"She means much to you, do not let appearances blind you, she will need you soon." The old woman said solemly.  
  
Lance frowned, "Appearances?"   
  
The woman nodded, "YOU will not be betrayed, listen and remember to trust your heart."  
  
[What does that mean?] Lance was brought out of his worries as the woman walked away and Allura called his name. Turning back to follow them, he couldn`t get a nagging feeling out of his head.  
***********  
They arrived at the beach house a little while later. Excusing herself, Cassie went to bed early, saying she was exhausted from the day`s activities.  
  
"I think I`ll go to bed also, good night," Mick followed her up the stairs.  
  
Allura blushed as Cassie`s giggles could be heard before the door closed and stood beside Lance in an awkward silence for a moment before he offered to stay downstairs while she went up to change.   
  
"Right, I should go do that, thanks," Allura hurried up and changed into the nightgown she`d brought.   
  
Being that they were staying with another couple, she`d packed a thin white gown with spaghetti strap sleeves that went down to her ankles. Looking into the body-length mirror by the wall as she let her hair down and brushed it out, she blushed as she noticed the way the gown`s neckline showed quite a bit of her chest and how the material seemed to accentuate her curves. Hearing a soft knock on the door, she hurried to put on the robe that went with it before letting Lance in.  
  
"I`m sorry if you`re not done yet but..." he blushed as a noise from upstairs reached their ears and Allura`s eyes widened, a light blush coming up to her cheeks as well. "You hadn`t heard?"  
  
"I wasn`t really listening," Allura heard another noise and cringed.  
  
Lance shook his head as he set his shoes by the bed, "Think they`ll last very long?"  
  
"Who knows?" Allura squeaked as a particularly loud noise sounded and turned worried eyes to Lance.  
  
Taking a moment to think, he suddenly stood and pulled the covers off the bed, handing Allura a pillow.   
  
"What are we...?"  
  
"I always thought it`d be nice to sleep on the beach, haven`t you?" Lance shrugged and followed her as she stepped outside and made her way downstairs.   
  
They tip-toed out, blushing as the noises continued and hurried outside and away from the house. After reaching the lower beach area, they set up a small bed, using the blanket as a rug and each holding one of the sheets as their blankets.   
  
"I`d never thought of this," Allura smiled, relieved to be out in the fresh air and away from the noises as she set her pillow down and sat on her side.  
  
"I`d thought of it but never imagined I`d do it," Lance sighed and settled down beside her.  
  
They lay silently side by side for a few moments when Allura suddenly remembered, "Today`s our anniversary! I completely forgot!"  
  
"Oh, that`s right!" Lance got up and told her to wait, "I`ll be right back."  
  
Running up to the house, he tip-toed in and up to their room where he`d hidden her gift. He took a few moments in finding both parts, fixing them and then wondering if they`d be ok before leaving. Back outside, he walked slowly for some reason, apprehensive and hoping she`d like it. Once at the bottom of the stairs, he made his way to the blankets and was surprised to see she`d fallen asleep.  
  
[Poor thing must have been tired from all the dancing] He sat down facing her quietly and watched her steady breathing. Under the moonlight she seemed almost ethereal with her pale skin, rosy lips which smiled sweetly and her hair spread about her like a halo. [How could that lady say Allura of all people would be invovled in a betrayal of any kind?]  
  
He was snapped out of his thoughts as she blinked sleepily and smiled up at him, "Hey."  
  
"Hey..." he smiled back and helped her sit up, handing her the two boxes.  
  
"Lance! You shouldn`t have!" Allura bit her lip and watched as he opened them.  
  
She gave a small gasp and stared wide-eyed at the necklace in the box. It was a simple yet elegant Y-shape chain with a diamond at the tip. He opened another box and showed her a small bracelet which had a small kitten at the center of the silver band with diamond eyes.  
  
"I can`t accept these," Allura shook her head and closed the boxes.   
  
Lance felt his heart stop for a moment, asking slowly, "You don`t like them?"  
  
"Oh no!" Allura looked up and saw the dissapointment in his eyes before correcting him, "Of course I like them, I love them! The kitten looks like the one you got me at he carnival and the necklace is beautiful bu..."  
  
"But what?" Lance asked, relieved.  
  
"I... I..." Allura twisted her hands in her lap and looked up at him with tears in her eyes, "I didn`t think you`d do this so I didn`t get you anything and..."  
  
"That`s ok Allie I don`t care about gifts," Lance pulled out the necklace and moved it up to her neck. After placing the bracelet on her wrist, he smiled and sat back.  
  
Allura gulped as a tear slipped from her eye, Lance shook his head and wiped it away, "Don`t cry, its really ok Allura, I..."  
  
He stopped as a sob suddenly escaped her and she moved forward to cover her face with her hands so he wouldn`t see her cry. With a small curse, Lance reached out and pulled her over to cry into his shoulder, trying to calm her down and make out what she said between sobs. After a while he managed to make out `not - fair - impossible.`   
  
"What`s not fair or impossible?" he asked softly a few times.  
  
Allura lifted a hand to his lips to silence him, her other arm snaking around to hold on to his shirt. They stayed that way for a few minutes before she spoke up, "I`m sorry Lance, I do love your gifts, they`re gorgeous."  
  
"Then why..."   
  
"Because I can`t believe I..." Allura sighed and didn`t continue.  
  
"You...?" Lance looked down and lifted her chin with a hand to make her meet his eyes. "What?"  
  
Allura thought about her answer for a moment before replying, "I broke my promise to Nanny."  
  
"What promise? It couldn`t be that serious," Lance wiped a tear from her cheek as she nodded.  
  
"It is, you see..." Allura bit her lip and looked down for a moment before whispering, "I promised not to fall in love with you."  
  
She felt Lance tense and closed her eyes apologizing, "I didn`t mean to, it just... happened!"   
  
Lance was silent for a moment before replying, "You know, that`s the best anniversary gift you could have given me."  
  
With a relieved sigh and wrapped his arms around her, suddenly laying back, eliciting a small cry from Allura before she realized they were lying side by side on the blanket. She watched Lance lean up on one elbow and smile down at her tenderly, "So you`re not upset?"  
  
"Upset? Why would I be upset? I`m almost afraid this is a dream," he leaned down and brushed a soft kiss across her lips. "I love you too Allie, I have for months only I..."  
  
"Really?" Allura`s eyes lit up happily, "Since when?"  
  
"Since... the night we learned to dance," Lance grinned, "How many times did we step on each other?"  
  
Allura giggled, "I lost count after we fell."  
  
"Me too... the third fall," he chuckled and raised a hand to brush back a few locks of hair that were blown into her face by the wind.   
  
They lay quietly for a few more minutes with their gazes locked together, neither knowing who made the first move as their lips met again. The kiss started slowly, tender and sweet, but as Lance felt her arms slip around his shoulders, he nudged her lips open and the kiss took a whole new turn.   
  
Allura was amazed by the emotions that ran through her during their kisses. She could feel the joy and possessiveness in Lance as he held her tighter, his body moving to cover hers. She was breathless when he finally pulled his mouth from hers and trailed soft kisses around her face, on her eyelids, the tip of her nose, her cheekbones, and then down to her neck.   
  
Lance could feel his heart pounding and barely managed to make himself stop there, kissing the spot behind her ear and whispering "I love you" again before raising his head to meet her eyes. Allura smiled and suddenly tried to stifle a yawn.  
  
"You`re tired," he pulled back to lie down beside her again.  
  
"I`m sorry, its been a long day," Allura shivered due to the loss of his warmth and asked him to scoot over, "The sheets aren`t going to be enough to keep us warm."  
  
"Right," Lance made her move over to the edge of the blanket, "but if we only use one side of the blanket we can pull the other side over both of us."  
  
"Sounds good," Allura moved off and watched as he got settled, taking up her space and then moving into his arms while he pulled the other part of the blanket over them. She lay her head on his shoulder with her hands settled against his chest, smiling as his arms held her close.   
  
"Good night," they both whispered soon falling into a deep sleep.  
  
***********  
  
^_^   
  
Aww... fluff!  
  
Hope you liked this chapter, sorry again for the long wait, but I`ve had writer`s block and then couldn`t upload and... anyways I have a bunch of ideas for the next chapter which I`m already starting and hope to have up soon. Thanks for reading and don`t forget to leave a review!  
~ K.C ~ 


	11. The Betrayal

Title: Friendship  
  
Author: KawaiiChica  
  
E-mail: KawaiiChica@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: R - For adult situations and language - not reccomended for kids under 17.  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine - just borrowed for the fic.  
  
A/N: Ok, important chapter, sorry for the wait but I hope it was worth it. The story`s hit a pivotal moment.  
  
" " Speaking  
[ ] Thoughts  
+++ Flashbacks  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"Thanks guys!"   
  
Allura and Lance waved as Cassie and Mick drove off. It was dark out and a chilly breeze blew by, causing Allura to shiver and hurry inside the building, thanking the doorman on her way in. Lance followed with their bag and grinned when she told him to hurry into the elevator.  
  
"You`re such a slowpoke sometimes," Allura pressed the button for their floor and leaned her head against his shoulder on the way up. "So`d you have fun this weekend?"  
  
Lance nodded, "Yeah, didn`t you?"   
  
"Oh yeah, the beach was great," Allura yawned, stepping out as the doors opened.  
  
They were met at the door by Keith, who gladly took their bag from them and set it in the living room where they were hanging out with Ken and Devon.   
  
"How was your weekend?" Pidge asked.  
  
"Great, the water was a bit cold but I still got a nice tan," Allura smiled and settled down in the seat next to Ken.  
  
He moved over a bit and settled his arm over her shoulders, "Did you have a good time with Cassie and Mick?"   
  
"Mh-hmm..." Allura yawned and blinked her sleepy eyes.  
  
"You should go up to bed Allie, its been a long day," Lance picked up the bag and headed up to put it away.  
  
Allura ignored him and shook her head a bit, "What about you guys? What were you up to?"  
  
"Nothing, went to the mall, saw the new horror movie, and were bored out of our minds," Hunk answered, "Any ideas?"  
  
"Its late to go out, and worse on a sunday... why don`t we play a game?" Allura stood and went over to a nearby closet. "Let`s see... there`s the game Adventurers, Target, two decks of cards, Dominoes and..."   
  
With a slight laugh, "The Newlywed Game!"  
  
"Great options," Hunk mumbled, "Aren`t most of those kids games?"  
  
"Yep," Allura grinned, "Why not play The Newlywed Game? We can change the name to the Best Friend`s Game and play with our best friend."  
  
"We`re seven," Pidge reminded her.  
  
"That`s all right, I`ll ask the questions," Devon offered, "Keith and Lance can make up one team, Hunk and Pidge another, and Allura and Ken will be the last."  
  
"That could work," Keith shrugged and sat down on the sofa next to Hunk and Pidge.   
  
"Great!" Allura beamed, helping Devon settle everything, hand out cards and pens. Afterwords she went into the kitchen for drinks and some snacks. Hunk helped her bring them out and they chatted while waiting for Lance.  
  
"Hey, who bought the cake that`s in the kitchen?" Allura asked with a smile.  
  
"Ken brought it," Keith replied.  
  
"For you and Lance, you know, since it was just your anniversary I thought you could use a little cake," Ken grinned with a sly twinkle in his eyes.  
  
Allura lowered her lashes, looking at him suspiciously, "And what`s that supposed to mean?"  
  
"That he might not have gotten used to buying it," Ken winked, "I was only doing you a favor."  
  
"KEN!" Allura hit him with a pillow, "For your information, I have not had cake with Lance!"  
  
"Sure you have, on your birthday," Pidge interrupted.  
  
"Really?" Ken smiled at her, "Since then?"   
  
"No!" Allura shook her head and glared at Pidge, "We had cake but we didn`t have cake." Her tone changed for the second time she said the word.  
  
"You mean in all this time you haven`t had cake?" Ken gaped, "Dear lord its unbelievable."  
  
"Why is it so unbelievable?" Allura set her hands on her hips.  
  
"Come on, how lond did it take us to have cake?" Ken reminded her, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"That was different!" Allura turned away, "Nevermind."  
  
At that moment Lance joined them and they explained the plans for the night. They settled down on the sofas, Allura and Ken on the love seat, Hunk, Pidge and Keith on the large sofa, and Lance on a single chair. Devon sat across from all of them behind the coffee table. After explaining the rules, half of the players had to leave so Ken, Hunk and Lance exited the room. The others answered their questions and a few moments later, the others were called back.  
  
They came back accompanied by Liz, who was home alone since Tony had been called away to an emergency. She sat beside Devon to enjoy the fun.  
  
"So partners, let`s find out how well you know your best friends." Devon grinned and began. "What is their favorite song? Starting with you Lance."   
  
"Dust in the Wind," he quickly answered.  
  
"Big Yellow Taxi," Hunk said.  
  
Ken smiled, "Insatiable."  
  
Devon nodded, "And the others said..."   
  
"Dust in the Wind," Keith flipped over his card.  
  
Pidge sighed, "Screaming Infidelities."   
  
"Since when?" Hunk asked.  
  
"A while ago," Pidge shrugged and told him not to worry about it.  
  
"Allura?" Devon turned to her.  
  
Allura blushed and flipped over her card, Ken chuckling when he read the answer, "I knew it."   
  
"Instiable? I`ve never heard it," Lance mumbled.  
  
"Of course not, its never been recorded," Ken explained, turning to Devon for the next question.  
  
"All right, Liz keep score of their correct answers if you please," he handed her the score board and went on, "What thing absolutely freaks them out? In terms of giving them the creeps when they see it."   
  
"Hmm... scorpions? I think Keith can`t stand them," Lance guessed.  
  
"Easy, snakes," Pidge grinned.  
  
"Whips or chains," Ken spoke with a frown.  
  
"Guys?" Devon waited for the others to answer.  
  
"Skeletons give me the creeps," Keith replied.  
  
"Snakes," Hunk grinned at Pidge.  
  
Allura pulled her feet up before her, curling up on the sofa, "Whips, chains or handcuffs."   
  
The guys wondered what that was about but decided not to ask. For the next twenty minutes they kept exchanging quetions and answers, fighting from time to time except for Allura and Ken. The round ended and they decided to take a break for a few minutes before sending out the three that hadn`t left before.   
  
Liz grinned as she read a set of questions that Devon had set aside. "Now these are interesting."  
  
"What are they?" Pidge asked  
  
"The sex questions," Liz laughed when as he shyly nodded and blushed.  
  
"Let`s see... what is your friend`s number one fetish?" Devon grinned and waited.  
  
"Fetish?" Hunk asked with a blush.  
  
"Yes, in bed, during or after having intercourse or relations," Liz chuckled and gave Allura a wink.  
  
"Yuck... never thought about that," Lance frowned and tried to think of anything he`d done that Keith might do. "What kind of question is that anyway?"   
  
"Just answer already," Liz said with a laugh.   
  
"I guess... using... wine?" Lance shrugged.  
  
"Umm... something to do with computers?" Hunk chuckled awkwardly, "I don`t know, I don`t even think he`s HAD... you know."  
  
Pidge blushed again and agreed, "But I have heard some stuff that sounds interesting."  
  
Allura and Liz giggled, giving him sympathetic smiles, "Don`t worry about it."   
  
"Ken?" Devon reminded him.  
  
Ken looked at Allura smugly for a moment before answering, "cake."  
  
"Cake?" Lance raised an eyebrow.  
  
"OH MY GOD!" Pidge yelled, staring at the couple on the loveseat with wide eyes, "THAT`s what you meant! You two have had CAKE!"   
  
"WHAT?!" Lance stared.  
  
"Its true!" Keith leaned forward in his seat, "That`s what you two meant with all that cake talk earlier! That`s why you brought Allura and Lance a cake!"   
  
"He brought us a cake?" Lance turned to look at him.  
  
"Yes," Hunk nodded, "Its in the kitchen."  
  
"Oh lord," Allura said meakly, laying her head on her knees.   
  
"So you two`ve... you know..." Pidge insisted.  
  
"Slept together, yeah," Ken shrugged, suddenly noticing Lance get angry, "But not recently! I swear!"   
  
"No!" Allura raised her head and looked at Lance, "I haven`t slept with Ken since we got out on vacation. What happened between us was a long time ago and under VERY strange circumstances and is all in the past. We`re just friends now."   
  
Keith frowned, "Friends who used to be lovers?"   
  
"Why not?" Allura asked, "Believe me, if you had been here you`d understand."  
  
"You slept with him at the age of fourteen?" Lance asked angrily.  
  
Allura nodded with a sigh, "But things were different, I don`t know how to explain it but believe me it hasn`t happened since then."   
  
"Great," Lance muttered, crossing his arms and leaning back against his seat.  
  
"What does it matter if Allura`s slept with Ken, I`m sure your history isn`t so clean either," Liz met his eyes, "Or do you really expect us to believe you`ve been a saint?"  
  
"Not a saint but I`m not hanging out with people I`ve slept with," he replied.  
  
"Well that`s your problem, the fact that Allura and I are still good friends isn`t a crime and neither of us feels guilty about anything that`s happened between us." Ken turned away and looked to the others. "Anyone want to keep playing or should we just split up to be bored in our own corners?"   
  
"How about we go watch a movie instead?" Devon asked, "I just bought that comedy with Jean Rivten and Ared..."  
  
"Ared Sommeil?!" Liz beamed, "I vote for the movie!"   
  
Allura managed to laugh along with the others, except for Lance who was still angrily pouting in his seat. Waiting for the others to leave the room, Allura asked Lance if he would come along, not surprised when he shook his head and looked away from her.   
  
"Lance..." she sighed and moved to his seat, sitting down on the table in front of him. After trying to get him to look at her, she gave up and moved to the ground, looping an arm around his leg and resting her head against his knee. "Why does that make you so mad? I swear nothing`s happened between us in a long time, Ken and I are just friends now."  
  
"Just friends, who know everything about each other even after all this time apart? he didn`t get a single wrong answer!" Lance took a deep breath to calm down.  
  
"We`ve always been that way," Allura tried to explain, "Out of all of my friends, Ken and Teddy were my best. The three of us could read each other like a book, we can talk without talking, we know each other`s weaknesses and strengths... and when it happened it was my fault, I needed to understand."  
  
"Understand what?"   
  
"Understand why, what it was about," Allura shrugged, "Everything."  
  
"About sex? So you slept with someone to understand what sex was about?" he frowned and waited a moment, "I guess that sounds reasonable, if you`d been older."  
  
"If you only knew the half of it," he suddenly heard a slight tremble in her voice and looked down to see her hands rubbing at her eyes.  
  
"Allie?" suddenly realizing what a jerk he was being, he leaned down and pulled her up onto his lap, not surprised to see a few tears in her eyes. "I`m sorry, I guess I`m just jealous."   
  
He sighed and set his chin on her shoulder, "I don`t have the cleanest record myself now that I think about it, but seeing the way you two get along and I dunno... I just got jealous."   
  
"Of Ken?" Allura shook her head at him with a small smile on her face.  
  
"Why not? He`s slept with you, out of marriage and..." Lance stopped, "Let`s just forget about it ok? I`m sorry."  
  
"Me too," Allura gave him a peck on his cheek and a quick hug. "How about we go to sleep?"  
  
"What?!" Lance`s eyes widened.  
  
"NO! Just to sleep, I`m tired, its been a long day." Allura smiled sleepily.  
  
"Oh, why don`t you go ahead? I think I`ll go watch the movie with the others, I`m not so tired yet." Lance stood and went upstairs holding her hand.   
  
"Hey! Glad to see things are ok," Ken greeted them, he stood and walked over to Lance, "Are we ok also? No hard feelings?"  
  
"Nah," Lance apologized for over-reacting and joined them in front of the tv. Just as they began to settle in with the others, the elevator was heard as it stopped on the bottom floor, a knock following closely.   
  
"Since when does Tony knock?" Allura wondered, standing and going downstairs. Opening the doors without asking who it was, she was stunned to see an older gentleman smiling at her warmly.   
  
"Hello my dear!" he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her before she had time to react.  
  
"So good to see you after all this time," he slid his hands down her sides, pulling her shirt down a bit with them. Stepping back a bit to look up at him, Allura was surprised to see his smile.   
  
"What are you doing here?" she asked in barely a whisper, too afraid to speak.  
  
He shrugged and glanced up the stairs where the tv could be heard, "Are you very busy?"   
  
"W-what do you want?" Allura whispered again shakily.  
  
"Just another little favor sweetheart," he eyed her from head to foot and smiled, "I see you`ve matured quite a bit... all the better now that you know the drill."  
  
"No!" Allura stepped back, her voice breaking a bit as her eyes watered, "How could you do that to me and dare to show your face again?"   
  
He stepped towards her, "I need your help."  
  
"Why?" Allura`s voice broke, "Grosspapa?"   
  
He stiffened and frowned, "Exactly because I AM your grosspapa, you are still under MY tutelage. Remember that you are not legally free from me until you marry or turn 21."   
  
"And then? Father was still alive back then," she asked, not noticing her voice had lifted.  
  
"Shh... you know he wasn`t involved, he wouldn`t help me so I had to move to my other relatives," he shrugged.  
  
To Allura`s relief, Ken decided to go get a drink and came down stairs at that moment, freezing for a second on the stairs in shock. The effect didn`t last long however and in the next instant he was thundering down the steps that remained and kicking the man out.  
  
"HOW DARE YOU SHOW UP HERE? GET THE HELL OUT! NOW!" he yelled while he bullied the other man into the elevator, "AND DON`T YOU DARE COME BACK AGAIN!"   
  
"Think about it darling!" the older man yelled to Allura just as the doors closed.   
  
By the time Ken came back, she was being surrounded by the others and asked what had happened. He shoved through the small huddle around her and wasn`t surprised to see Allura standing quietly while tears slipped down her blank eyes. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her close and cooed soft words to her in a strange language for a moment before she reacted and sobbed into his shoulder.   
  
"Gomen nasai koishii," Ken kept repeating, "He`s gone now... gomen nasai..."  
  
"Ken-ii..." Allura pulled back, wiping her eyes, "Why?"  
  
"Because he`s a sick old man," Ken wiped her face with a frown, "A fucking sick bastard."   
  
Allura whimpered and closed her eyes, letting him hold her again, "He wanted a favor..."  
  
"I can imagine," Ken shook his head before resting his cheek against her hair, "I`m sorry."  
  
"Don`t be," Allura sighed shakily and yawned, her voice was small as she spoke, "I don`t wanna have nightmares tonight."   
  
"You won`t," Ken looked up, finally remembering the others around them and saw Liz meet his eyes. She shook her head angrily, realizing who had been at the door and turned away, shooing the others upstairs, all but Lance.   
  
"Would one of you mind explaining what all that was about?" he asked.   
  
"No," Allura shook her head turning away from Ken to face him.   
  
There was anger in his eyes, as well as jealousy and annoyance. Opening her mouth to explain, she pictured him suddenly as she`d seen him before at the castle. After they`d been told how Lotor tortured people, she remebered the look of disdain on his face and shook her head.   
  
"I can`t," she turned and ran into the living room towards her music room.   
  
"What?!" Lance threw his hands up in exasperation.  
  
"Let`s find out," Ken headed in her direction and motioned for him to follow.   
  
Reaching the door, he knocked and called out to her, "Babe? Can I come in?"   
  
"Are you alone?" Allura sniffled.  
  
"Yeah," Ken opened the door and stepped into the room.   
  
Allura sat beside the window with a small lamp beside her. "Where`s Lance?"  
  
"He went upstairs," Ken left the door open a bit and moved beside her. "You really should tell them already, why all this mystery for something that wasn`t your fault?"  
  
"Because," Allura hesitated, "Its all so... wrong."  
  
"Yes, it was horrible and something no one should have to go through but its in the past and like I said, none of it was your fault." Ken insisted.  
  
"I know," Allura sighed and yawned sleepily. "Arigato Ken-ii."  
  
"Hai, daijabu?" Ken stood.  
  
"Hai," Allura turned towards the door as Lance came in.   
  
"Oyasuminasai koishii," Ken gave Lance a nod and left, closing the door behind him.  
  
"Oyasumina- what?" Lance moved to kneel beside her.  
  
Alura giggled and lay back, "Oyasuminasai, it means good night."  
  
"In Ken-talk?" Lance took her hand into his and stroked his fingers over it softly.  
  
"No, its Japanese, a terran language Ken-ii taught me." Allura yawned again and closed her eyes, "I`m sorry for freaking out like that, I was just remembering."  
  
Lance rolled his eyes, "Remembering what? Its getting annoying not knowing what happens to you sometimes. You never freaked out that way before."  
  
"I know," Allura gave a long sigh, "I guess being with the guys makes me remember more often. When we`re at the castle I feel safe and I can forget everything that happened here in the city, but with Tony and the others over-protecting me again, I dunno... things are different."  
  
"Then why come here?" Lance slid down beside her, "Who was that man?"  
  
"Because I hadn`t seen Tony and them since it happened and I thought I`d gotten over it," Allura closed her eyes, "Lance?"  
  
"Yeah?" he waited for her to continue.  
  
"Did you really mean what you said the other night?" she looked up at him uncertainly, "About..."  
  
He cut her off by cupping the back of her head and pulling her forward for a passionate kiss, "Yes."   
  
Allura smiled a bit uncertainly, "Would you love me no matter what?"   
  
"Of course," Lance frowned a bit, "Why the sudden ques..."  
  
"Mind if I go to bed?" Allura jumped up and took his hand in hers. "I`m tired."  
  
"What?!" Lance stood, confused by her sudden change of topics.  
  
"I think I`ll go to bed now, good night Lance," she gave him a quick peck on the lips and went out and up to their room. Following her up, Lance wondered how much longer he could last with all the mysteries around them.  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"Allura its for you!" Sandra, the head nurse, called out from behind the desk.   
  
"Thanks," Allura took the reciever with a smile, "Hello?"   
  
"Mrs Chamberlain?" a worried female voice asked.  
  
"Yes?" Allura asked, a pang of fear running through her.  
  
"There`s been an emergency, your husband..."  
  
Allura jumped, "What about him?"  
  
"He needs you, now, come over quickly please," the woman gave her and address and hung up.   
  
"I`ve got to go Sandy, something urgent`s come up," Allura left her patient`s list and ran out before hearing her reply, focusing solely on the address she`d been given and wondering what could have happened to Lance. [Please God let him be ok!]  
  
After driving as wildly as Lance normally did, she finally arrived at a small apartment building, wondering if she had the correct address. "69 Empire Lane... this is the right address..."   
  
Too worried to question it much more, she hopped out of her convertible and ran to the small gate, opening it and hurrying up the steps, surprised to find the front door open. "Hello?"   
  
"Upstairs!" the woman from earlier yelled from the second floor.  
  
"Coming!" Allura ran up and looked around at the furnishings. Everything was dark mahogany, the reddish curtains on the window on her right making the hallway even darker. "LANCE?!"   
  
"He`s unconcious, at the end of the hall!" the woman yelled.  
  
"Oh lord!" Allura felt her eyes tear up as she hurried over, opening the door and freezing where she stood.   
  
The room was dark and lit by many small candles, all deep red, like the bedding and carpeting. Standing before her holding two wine glasses stood Mick, wearing a pair of black pants and a black shirt. "Come in."   
  
He pulled her wrist with his free hand and stepped to where she`d stood, closing the door with his foot.   
  
"W-What is this?" Allura stammered, feeling herself trembling.   
  
"I told you we`d make up for lost time soon didn`t I?" he grinned, scanning her outfit as he handed her a glass. "Its been almost a week already."  
  
"No," Allura shook her head, knocking away the wine, "I`m leaving now, Lance will have gone to the hospital by now and found out I left. He always goes at two and we go eat."   
  
"I don`t think so dear," Mick grinned, "You see I`ve had some help planning this little get-together."   
  
He sipped his wine and went on, "A dear relative of yours is once again helplessly in debt and came to me for help."  
  
"No," Allura whispered weakly, eyes tearing up while she looked around the room, shaking out her hands, feeling an odd tingle in them.  
  
"Oh yes, he came to me with another business deal and set this little place up for us," Mick moved over to a nearby table and set down his wine. "Having problems with your hands?"  
  
"No," Allura frowned, looking down at them as they suddenly felt heavier, slower.  
  
"Yes you are, you see, the doorknobs and gate were coated in a syrum that makes your arm go numb within minutes of coming into contact with it." he smiled widely, "And we made sure to fix the gate so that you had to use both hands to open it."  
  
"No," Allura whispered, struggling to move her numbing arms.  
  
"Oh yes," Mick moved toward her and grinned while he undid the zipper at the back of her dress, feeling the unstoppable trembling of her body as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I won`t even have to force you this time."   
  
"NO!," Allura screamed, trying to kick him. He caught her leg and used it to throw her off balance and knock her onto the bed.  
  
"Sorry to be a little rough, I`m in a bit of a hurry since the syrum won`t last forever," Mick grinned, moving over her, struggling to pull her dress off. He had it at her waist and was pulling out her arms when Allura heard movement outside and screamed again.   
  
"Its just your grosspapa," Mick chuckled and leaned down to cover her mouth with his. Seconds after his kiss began, the door was slammed open and two faimiliar voices rang out.  
  
"SHIT!"   
  
"OH MY GOD!"   
  
Allura whimpered, knowing what it looked like, afraid to look at them. Mick pulled back with a curse and turned to look at the couple at the door.   
  
"I can explain..."  
  
"Like HELL you can!" Cassie screamed, covering her mouth in shock, "With ALLIE?"   
  
Allura shook her head, "Lance..."   
  
But she could see his clenched fists and furious eyes, "Don`t."   
  
Allura felt her arms begin to have feeling again and struggled to sit up, "Lance..."  
  
"That`s what you kept hiding," he stepped back shaking his head, "You already admitted to sleeping with Ken... to think you kept begging me not to leave you alone with Mick. You knew you`d sleep with him if given the chance."  
  
He looked to Mick angrily, "How many times has this happened?"  
  
Allura sobbed and shook her head. "This isn`t what you think, I can explain!"  
  
"Lance let`s go," Cassie whispered shakily, "Please let`s just go."  
  
"Yeah," Lance took her by the arm and pushed her out, not looking back when Allura cried for him to return. He called over his shoulder at the top of the steps, "Who`d have thought the little PRINCESS was such a slut?"  
  
Allura closed her eyes and bit back a sob.   
  
"We`re screwed," Mick began to quickly get dressed.  
  
"I still can`t move much," Allura whimpered.  
  
"You`ll be fine in a few minutes from the way you managed to sit up, I had the handcuffs at hand," Mick zipped his pants and grabbed his shirt, stepping into his shoes. "I`ve got to get after Cassie, I need her money."  
  
"That`s why you were going to marry her," Allura glared.  
  
"Of course, you know me," he threw on his shirt over his head.   
  
"Forget about Cassie," Allura`s voice was icy, "Find a way to get the hell away from Arus."  
  
"Why should I do that princess?" he smirked.  
  
"Because if I ever see you again I swear to kill you myself," Allura stood and slowly pulled up her dress, "You have until I finish getting ready and reach my bag in the car."  
  
"You wouldn`t dare," Mick said, stepping towards the door, "You`re not that kind of person."  
  
Allura zipped up her dress again and slid on her shoes that had fallen off, "Why not? All you need is enough hate, and believe me I`ve never hated anyone as much as I hate you now."   
  
"Don`t cry little one, you`ll be fine," a familiar voice consoled her from the doorway.   
  
"Why?" Allura cried, "Why grosspapa? How could you do this to me? And twice?"   
  
"Easily, after all, you`re my daughter`s child and I need the money you make me," he sighed, "Your mother was a whore, sleeping with your father behind my back... you take after her, sleeping with that angry young man."   
  
"No..." Allura headed towards the door and brushed past him, "I don`t."   
  
"Of course you do," he shrugged and watched her walk away, "I have enough for now little one."   
  
"Good..." Allura went downstairs and out to her car, taking the keys from another familiar old face, "Thank you Hans."  
  
"I`m terribly sorry miss," he said with obvious regret in his voice and eyes.   
  
"Me too," Allura sighed deeply and started up the car, wondering where to go. She turned cold eyes to the man beside her window and spoke in her most authorative tone. "Warn your lord as well, if he ever shows up on Arus again, I`ll make sure he never leaves."   
  
"Are you really capable of killing?" Hans asked solemnly.  
  
"Maybe not, but I know plenty of people who are," Allura turned back forward, flooring the gas pedal and speeding away.   
  
[Oh God I have to explain this to Lance... if looks could kill...] She went over his words again and again, seeing the hate in his eyes as he said them. ["Who`d have thought the little PRINCESS was such a slut?"]  
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Well, as you can see, it was quite an important chapter, and hopefully it wasn`t offensive. Next chapter - Allura`s secrets will be revealed.   
  
And as an extra note, thanks to all of you who have reviewed and those of you who`ve read this far. Special thanks to those of you who e-mailed me about the story as well.   
  
Don`t forget to let me know what you think of this chapter.  
~ K. C. ~ 


	12. Allura´s Past 13

Title: Friendship  
  
Author: KawaiiChica  
  
E-mail: KawaiiChica@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: R - For adult situations and language - not reccomended for kids under 17.  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine - just borrowed for the fic.  
  
" " Speaking  
  
[ ] Thoughts  
  
+++ Flashbacks  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Hey guys," Lance shuffled up the stairs and flopped down into one of the sofa, "What´s up?"  
  
"Nothing much, besides the fact that neither you, nor Allura came home last night," Keith answered pointedly, "Might I ask where you´ve been?"  
  
"She didn´t come home?" Lance covered his eyes for a second before unexpectedly jumping to his feet with a curse. "Damnit!"  
  
"And to think I was feeling guilty! Just because..." He ignored the others and stomped into his room, taking out a bag from the closet and throwing clothes into it.  
  
The others followed, confused expressions on their faces. Keith interrupted his angry ranting, "I take it that you didn´t spend the night with her?"  
  
"NO!" Lance glared, "It just so happens that I made a very surprising discovery about the dear little princess and haven´t seen her since I left that old house."  
  
"What old house?" Pidge asked.  
  
"The one she goes to when she sleeps with Mick!" Lance slammed the bag shut, roughly closing the zipper.  
  
Keith frowned, "What are you talking about? Allura can´t stand that guy."  
  
Lance huffed, "Don´t be so sure of that, I happened to have found them getting quite friendly."  
  
"You must have mis-understood," Hunk began.  
  
"I understood just fine Hunk, there´s no way she could´ve ended up half-naked in another guys arms unless she did it willingly." Lance turned and went into the closet, calling over his shoulder, "And to THINK I felt guilty about sleeping with Cassie this morning, but I should have known she´d stay all night with that creep!"  
  
"You slept with Cassie?" Pidge stared, wide-eyed as Lance stormed out with another bag.  
  
"Don´t think I´d planned on it, things just happened, we both had quite a bit to drink and got a bit carried away." he set down the bag and kneeled to pick up his shoes from under the bed. "After all, its not everyday that one finds out their ideal woman is nothing but a two-bit skank."  
  
"Hey watch it!" Keith yelled, interrrupted by a small voice from behind them.  
  
"Its all right"  
  
Allura stepped into the room and gave him a tired smile. Looking her over, the guys could see she´d had a rough night, with her hair askew and slight bags under her teary eyes. She leaned against the doorway slightly and sighed.   
  
"Leave him be Keith, its not worth fighting over," she walked over to the dresser and pulled out a set of clothes. Making her way into the bathroom, she picked up the phone and closed the door behind her.  
  
Lance huffed and grabbed his bags, "I´ll see you guys later."  
  
"Where are you going to stay?" Hunk asked, following him out of the room.  
  
"I don´t know yet," Lance shrugged, stopping as Allura came out of the closet and yelled his name.  
  
She came out of the room and made her way down the stairs. She´d changed from her white nursing outfit to a long black skirt and a black shirt, with a pair of black pumps and some simple jewelery, a necklace and her watch. Her hair was up in a bun and her ears held small diamonds.  
  
"You don´t have to go anywhere, I´ve got to leave anyways," she picked up her small purse from a nearby table and took out her keys. "Here Keith, you hold on to these ok?"  
  
"But princess where are..." Keith began.  
  
"I have other accomodations already," Allura re-assured him.  
  
"I bet you do," Lance mumbled.  
  
Allura suddenly frowned and turned towards him, "I bet you feel like a total fool don´t you? After all you´re sure I´ve done to you... well, guess what? You´re right, you ARE a fool and I pity you for that."  
  
She glared angrily, "I pity the fact that you don´t trust anyone, not even enough to listen to what they have to say when its important. I´m sorry about the guilt you felt this morning after you slept with Cassie, but why would you feel guilt if you knew that the person you supposedly ´loved´ was betraying you?"  
  
She chuckled and shook her head, "But you know what´s worse? What I hate the most out of all of this?"  
  
Lance shrugged and she continued, "The fact that I actually hoped you´d let me explain this morning."   
  
"I honestly prayed that you´d let me explain and help you understand everything you´ve been wondering about these past few months." She sniffled and wiped at her eyes, a sad smile coming onto her face again, "You see, I had hoped that you´d really meant what you said the other night."  
  
"Even if you cheated on me? You expect me to love you after that?" Lance cut in.  
  
Allura shook her head, "That´s the proof that you never really loved me."  
  
Lance dropped his bags, "Oh didn´t I?"   
  
"No," Allura whispered, "If you´d really loved me you wouldn´t believe that."  
  
"I SAW YOU! How do you expect me not to believe what I see?!" he yelled.  
  
"Easy," Allura sniffed and walked past him, "You trust in the other person, at least enough to let them explain."  
  
"Screw that," Lance turned and headed upstairs.   
  
Allura also turned and left, waving a quick good-bye to the others explaining over her shoulder. "I´ll be back at the hospital if I´m needed."  
  
************  
  
"Can you guys believe what just happened?" Pidge asked after they´d heard both doors close.  
  
Hunk shook his head, "No."  
  
"I wonder what happened, they were all mushy and happy just yesterday morning," Keith sighed, "Allura looked exhausted."  
  
"Didn´t she say she´d be ´back´ at the hospital? Do you think she stayed there last night?" Hunk replied.  
  
"It could be, she did stay overnight before when that little girl was sick and asked her to," Pidge remembered, "But then it does seem a bit strange after what Lance said about how he´d found her."  
  
Keith frowned, "I don´t believe that, Allura would never cheat on anyone and much less with someone she seems to despise as much as she does Mick."   
  
"How naive can you get? Allura doesn´t despise him, it was all just an act." Lance joined them. "But its over now so who cares anymore? Allura´s gone and probably back to that idiot."  
  
"Lance you´re just jealous," Pidge mumbled before his eyes lit up, " And wait a minute, you´re one to talk about fidelity, sleeping with one of her best friends!"  
  
"That was AFTER we caught her and Mick together," Lance argued and turned away, "Anyways I´m going out, see you later."  
  
"Hey wait!" Pidge ran after him, "How did you know where to find her? Did you know the place?"  
  
"No," Lance frowned, "Now that I think about it, I just got this call saying I needed to go to that address to help out a friend and I met Cassie outside."  
  
"So you both got a mysterious call? That doesn´t sound too good," Pidge fidgeted with a nearby phone.   
  
"I´m sure it wasn´t," Tony answered as he entered the apartment, "Just coming for one of Allura´s jackets, she´s going to need it at the cementary."  
  
"Where?" Keith asked  
  
"The cementary, you know, where people are buried." Tony sighed and rubbed his eyes, "We spent all night with her but the doctors couldn´t do anything."  
  
Lance frowned, "About who?"   
  
"Padme"   
  
"She died?" Lance asked, "Why? how?"  
  
"There was an accident off the road, one of the nurses called Allura yesterday and asked her to come in. When she arrived she was taken down to the morgue and asked if she recognized the people there," Tony sighed, "They were Maru and Oma."  
  
"Shit," Lance said, biting his lip, "And Allura had to verify that for them? She saw their dead bodies?"  
  
"Poor thing," Hunk whispered.  
  
"Not to mention that she gave blood to help Padme and spent the night watching over the little one. The poor thing didn´t sleep a wink last night, and then coming back to problems like whatever she had with you doesn´t help." Tony brushed past them upstairs. Coming down a few minutes later with one of Allura´s warmer jackets and a pair of gloves, he stopped beside Lance. "Look, I don´t know what happened yesterday, she hasn´t told any of us but I´m sure that whatever it was couldn´t have been that serious."  
  
"It was," Lance interrupted.  
  
Tony frowned, "Yeah well, she´s kept it to herself for now and is going to be staying with me and Liz."   
  
"Great," Keith managed to smile, "I was worried about where she might go."  
  
Tony nodded, "I thought as much, just wanted to let you know she´d be ok." He turned and made his way to the door, stopping for a moment before he left. "I know you´re really angry for whatever happened yesterday Lance, but I know Allura and she´s going to need some help dealing with these losses."  
  
"She has you guys and the rest of the team," Lance replied crossly.  
  
"Of course, but none of us mean as much to her as you do so if you could get past yesterday..." Tony shrugged, "At least think about it."  
  
"Yeah sure," Lance rubbed his eyes and headed upstairs, "I´m not home if anyone calls guys, I need to rest."  
  
Tony waved good-bye and left, closing the door behind him quietly. The others shared a look and then split up, each going to their rooms.   
  
************  
  
"Are you sure you´re ok?"   
  
Ken took Allura´s jacket and watched her with worried eyes as she nodded and dragged her feet over to the sofa. Sitting down, she yawned and rubbed her stinging eyes. "I´m fine."  
  
"Sure you are, and those tears in your are for?" Ken came over and sat down beside her.  
  
"I just lost my best friend! What do you expect? Should I be jumping for joy?" Allura shivered and leaned against the armrest tiredly. "I wish I could just go to sleep and not wake up."  
  
"You don´t really mean that," Ken said with a frown, "You´re just tired, go and get some rest. Tony and Liz won´t mind if you take a nap on their bed."  
  
"I think I will," Allura smiled, "Ken-ii, would you do me a favor?"  
  
"Of course," he smiled back.  
  
"Make me a cup of tea? Something soft and sweet," Allura stood and stretched, "It´ll help me fall asleep faster."  
  
"Sure thing you just get into bed and I´ll be right there." He stood also and went into the kitchen.  
  
Allura was going into the bedroom when her cell phone rang. "Hello?"  
  
"Allura?"  
  
Allura inwardly sighed as she recognized Cassie´s voice, "Hey."  
  
"I need to talk to you, could you come over to my apartment?"   
  
"Sure, I´ll be right over," Allura hung up and went to the door, putting on her jacket as she called out. "Ken-ii forget the tea, I need to go talk to someone!"  
  
"Who?" Ken came out of the kitchen with a few tea leaves in hand.  
  
"Just a friend, its important so I have to go now," Allura stepped out of the apartment, "I´ll be back later!"   
  
"Leave your phone on! Where are you going?" Ken watched her go and sighed, turning to put away the things he´d taken out.  
  
Allura hurried down to the parking lot and grabbed her car, quickly driving over to Cassie´s apartment, which was only a few blocks away. Making her way up the stairs, she stopped at her door and rang the bell. After getting no answer, she knocked a few times, surprised when the door opened slightly.  
  
"Hello? Cassie?" she stepped inside slowly, looking around for her friend, "Cass- umph!"  
  
************  
  
*24 hours later*  
  
"Have any of you seen Allura? Has she called?" Ken panted at the top of the stairs. "She was supposed to go see a friend but she hasn´t been back."  
  
"Since when?" Keith asked as they all stood.  
  
"Yesterday after the funeral." Ken sighed and took a deep breath, "We´ve been looking all night but we can´t find her anywhere."  
  
"And you didn´t think to call us before?!" Keith grabbed his jacket and followed him downstairs. "Where have you looked?"  
  
"Cassie´s house, we called the castle, the hospital..." Ken waited for them to join him in the elevator, surprised to see Lance join them. "I thought..."  
  
"Just because I´m mad at her doesn´t mean I want anything bad to happen," Lance snapped, wondering where she could have gone.  
  
They spent the next hours looking for her, driving around the city desperately. They stopped to rest at a small café, talking over options about where she might be while their coffee was served.  
  
"You looked at the hospital? They might have covered for her if she asked them to," Pidge asked.  
  
"Of course," Tony replied, "Liz is staying there just in case."  
  
"Right, and what about..." Lance was interrupted by his phone ringing, "Hello?"  
  
"You´re looking for the princess?" an unfamiliar voice asked.  
  
"What do you know?" Lance moved away from the others with a frown, "Have you seen her?"  
  
"Its strange how both she and her so-called ´lover´ dissapeared don´t you think?" the man asked, "Feel like a trip to the beach?"  
  
"OF COURSE!" Lance ran his hand through his hair, "She ran off with that..."  
  
"No she didn´t, you need to get that idea out of your head and get to that beach as soon as possible." The man corrected him sternly.  
  
Lance shook his head, "You´re saying she didn´t go with him? Then why would she be there with him?"   
  
"Will you stop arguing with me and go already? She´s not there because she wants to be, she probably doesn´t even know where she is." The final word was followed by a click and then a dial tone.  
  
"I know where she is," Lance turned and walked out, followed by Tony, Keith and Ken.   
  
"Where to?" Tony asked, hopping into the driver´s seat.  
  
"Mick´s beach house," Lance sat beside him and gave directions while Keith and Ken called the others and told them what was happening.  
  
Tony drove as quickly as possible and they arrived at about half past eight. To their relief, the light downstairs was on, indicating that someone was home. An older woman opened the door and quietly came out to greet them.   
  
"I´m so glad you came again!" she smiled at Tony and Ken, "They´ve been upstairs all day, the poor thing!"  
  
"Don´t worry about it, she´ll be fine this time." Tony said somberly, following them inside. He was stopped by the old woman´s voice as they reached the stairs.  
  
"He made me cook again,"  
  
"Shit!" Ken ran upstairs followed closely by Tony and the others. They stepped into the room and Keith and Lance froze at the sight that greeted them.  
  
Mick lay on top of Allura, both unconcious, naked, and with a large bottle of some kind of spilled liquid beside them. The bed was a mess, but most shocking were the straps tying Allura down and the alcohol bottles around them.  
  
************  
  
*48 hours later*  
  
"How is she?"   
  
Lance peeked inside the room as Nanny stepped out. She just shook her head and walked away, wiping at her eyes as a soft sob escaped her throat.   
  
They´d been back at the castle for two days and Allura had shown no sign of improvement. After they´d found her, Ken had pulled Mick away while Tony untied her, wrapped her in a blanket, and carried her out of the house. After kicking Mick in the side and yelling at him, Ken had bent down to check on him and was surprised to discover he had no pulse.  
  
Being closer to the castle than the city, they´d called ahead and made their way as fast as possible, praying Allura would make it. Her stomach had been pumped and they were just waiting for her to react.   
  
Entering the room, Lance flinched as he saw her paleness and sat beside her opposite Ken. Tony had gone back to the city for Liz, the others had come back, Zeke and Devon had both shown up, and Ken hadn´t left her side since she´d been set up in her room. There was an awkward silence between them for a while before Ken spoke up.  
  
"I failed her"  
  
"How?" Lance asked.  
  
"I promised he´d never touch her again," Ken sighed deeply and lifted a hand to her cheek, "The poor thing was so happy this past month and a half. She really fell for you."  
  
Lance gulped and said nothing, guilt washing over him as he thought over what he´d done just a few days earlier. "I can´t believe the things I thought about her and everything I said."  
  
"Its understandable, in a way," Ken took hold of her hand and smiled. "You know what we had, but you don´t know why."  
  
Lance looked up towards him, "Why?"   
  
Ken nodded, "She was fourteen, I was eighteen, and I was taken by my best friends to a whore house out of town. Its still there, that old house, ruined and dirty. Its where we met."  
  
He made himself comfortable and began to explain, "Four years ago on the planet Bjiour, the king was in deep trouble with his people. He´d spent all the money for improvements on foolish extravagancies, his people were starving and protesting more everyday. He finally got to the point where he needed money urgently, to fix things and calm down his people."  
  
"Coming to Arus where his daughter had married, he asked her for the money he needed. When she refused, he became desperate, then he saw a way out." Ken frowned and kept his eyes on Allura. "His fourteen year old granddaughter, whom he´d hardly ever paid attention to, came home from a trip to her other grandfather´s kingdom."  
  
"Seeing her for the first time in years, he was surprised with how mature she looked. For her age she was quite a beauty." He reached out and pushed a set of bangs from her eyes, "Feeling desperate for money, he figured out a plan. After inviting her to spend a month with him in the nearby city of Spretz, he arranged for an accident to occur on the road and had her taken to a low-budget whore house he´d visited in the forest once."  
  
Lance stiffened, staring wide-eyed at Ken, "You´re not saying..."  
  
"He rented her out," Ken nodded, "They set up a room and made a whole campaign with her -   
  
´A night with your very own princess´ - the public loved it."  
  
"Holy shit, you´re telling me..."  
  
"She was raped, she spent a month and a half there, how much do you think could have been done to her in that time?" Ken asked, "She got lucky one night, usually they drugged her before a ´client´ entered the room, the stuff would make her delirious and highly sensitive to the touch. It was also highly addictive. But one night they forgot, and I happened to be that client. When I entered the room, instead of the delirious fake princess, I got a real princess and a plea for help. My best friend Tony and I got her out."  
  
"Christ," Lance looked down as Allura finally moved.   
  
She slowly crossed her arms around her chest beneath the blanket, trying to twist onto her side. Hearing Ken call her name, she blinked slowly, finally focusing on him after a few moments.  
  
"Ken-ii?" she whispered hoarsely, seeing him nod, she suddenly gasped and closed her eyes, tears slowly slipping from the corners, "Ken-ii help me, please."  
  
She sobbed softly and flinched suddenly, opening her eyes and pleading desperately, "Don´t make me go through this again, please don´t make me..."  
  
Ken gulped and lifted her so she could sit up, her face burrowed into his shoulder while he held her against him. Her voice was soft and weak as she begged, "Please don´t make me go through this again! Please!... I can´t... please not again."  
  
He pulled her tighter to him and tried not to let his voice waver as he tried to soothe her. "Shh... you´ll be ok... it´ll be over soon..."  
  
"No please!" Allura opened her eyes and weakly pulled away, laying back in bed and hugging a pillow to herself as she curled on her side. She tried to talk but suddenly let out a whimper and buried her face into the pillow to muffle a slight scream. "Make it stop, please please!"  
  
"What´s happening to her?!" Lance asked concerned.  
  
"She´s finally going into withdrawal," Ken explained as he lay down beside her and pulled her to him, trying to soothe her. "I told you the drugs were highly addictive, this time won´t be nearly as bad as last."  
  
He seemed to decide that was enough of explaining, focusing on the trembling girl in his arms. "You´ll be ok Allie... I promise..."  
  
Allura sobbed and shook her head, "I´m too tired for this, I want to go with Maru!"   
  
Lance gulped, watching with tears in his eyes as she whimpered and tried to move closer to Ken, who tightened his hold on her and tried to soothe her by humming and kissing the top of her head.  
  
"You´ll be ok Allie... it´ll all be ok..." Ken whispered, a tear slipping from own eye as another of her cries was muffled by his chest.   
  
************  
  
*Sigh*  
  
FINALLY! You know what REALLY happened to her!   
  
Sorry for the incredibly long wait, I moved, found a job, and have been working from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. for the last two months, writing when I could get the energy to do so. I hope this chapter was worth the wait though. Make sure to let me know what you think ok?  
  
- See you next chapter!  
  
~ K.C. ~ 


	13. Unexpected changes 15

Title: Friendship  
  
Author: KawaiiChica  
  
E-mail: KawaiiChica@hotmail.com   
  
Rating: R - For adult situations and language.  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine - just borrowed for the fic.  
  
" " Speaking  
  
[ ] Thoughts  
  
+++ Flashbacks  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
*Sniffle*   
  
Allura leaned weakly against Lance, too emotionally and physically drained to move away. Her crying had finally ebbed and left in its place a sense of overwhelming exhaustion which threatened to make her fall sleep on her feet.   
  
"Feeling better?" Lance moved away to look down at her face, not surprised to see her nod sluggishly, having already sensed how tired she must be by the way she leaned against him so easily. "Time for bed then."  
  
Lifting her into his arms, he settled her onto the bed and carefully removed her shoes, covering her with a blanket before sitting down beside her. She gave a sleepy smile and slid her hand into his, lightly tugging him down to hear her. "Stay?"   
  
"I'm not so sure about that Allie, we've got a lot to talk about."   
  
Allura nodded, "After our nap, come on."  
  
Giving in to his own need to hold her, Lance slipped his shoes off and watched her crawl into bed, pushing the sheets back and sliding beneath them, leaving enough room for him. Allura turned away and relaxed when he slid into their usual spooning position, glad to be in his arms again. "I've missed you."  
  
"Not as much as I have," Lance sighed and pulled her close, thanking the gods for this second chance. Settling his chin above her head, he held her loosely, wondering what they were doing as he listened to her even, slow breathing. Watching her sleep, he couldn't help the guilt that came to mind to think of what he'd done. [How could I have called you such horrible things?]   
  
What was worse, and nearly killed him earlier, was the fact that she'd agreed. She'd really meant it when she said she was a whore, there was no doubting the sincerity in her voice and features as she's admitted she was a slut. It tore at him to think of her seeing herself that way, all because of greedy, lustfull jerks like Mick and Grandfather. [And me, I helped them when I called her a slut]   
  
Wincing at that thought, he buried his face in her hair, holding her tighter, as if afraid she would wake and leave him. [No, she wouldn't do that though. She said she missed me.] Looking down at her peaceful smile, he ached with the need to apologize, to do something to make up for all the hurt he'd caused her. In her sleep she looked as fragile as they'd always thought she was, naive, with a sweet smile on her lips. She was more than he'd ever thought he could deserve. Kind, caring, innocent Allura.  
  
[Innocent?] Studying her for a second, he nodded at that conclusion. She was innocent, none of what had happened was her fault. She'd been set up by a man no one would think would harm her, twice, perhaps even three times. She'd been forced into a life she shouldn't even have known about. The thought of her being dominated and subject to strange men causing him to tighten his hold to a point where she gave a small gasp and turned to blink sleepily at him.   
  
"Lance?" her voice was low and breathy, edged with sleep.  
  
"Sorry," he let go a bit, smiling when she turned, wrapping her arms around him and settling her head on his shoulder, quickly falling back asleep. [What did I do to deserve this? How can I redeem myself to someone I was never good enough for in the first place?] After watching her sleep for about an hour, his own weariness overcame him and he finally slept as well.  
  
They woke up to the sound of knocking on the door, Nanny's urgent voice calling out to Allura. "Princess you have to come out here!"   
  
"Mm... what is it Nanny?" Allura sighed and stretched, giving a pout when Lance stood and made his way to the door.   
  
"Princess you wouldn't believe who's here!" Nanny gave a beaming smile, shooing Lance out with a light scolding about their disheveled appearances. "I take it you've behaved since you're both dressed but this behavior is not acceptable."  
  
"Sure Nanny," Lance grinned and headed to his own room to change.  
  
Allura was quickly changed into a light blue dress, her hair lifted into a pretty bun and her make up added on in soft tones. "Who is it Nanny? Why am I wearing something so informal to greet them?"  
  
"Oh, he doesn't need formalities!" Nanny shoved her out the door and practically dragged her to the stairway, where Lance and the others waited already.   
  
Allura smiled sheepishly at them all and took her place between Keith and Lance. "Any idea who this visitor is?"  
  
"No, we were just told to wait with you here, the plane had a few problems and whoever is here insisted on checking them before coming to the palace. " Keith shrugged, glancing over her dress, "You look nice Allura, black isn't your color."   
  
"Thank you," Allura blushed a little and straightened out the skirt of her dress. At the sound of a carriage appraoching, she straightened, squared her shoulders and was once again the sovereign she'd been trained to be since childhood. Knowing the pain and uncertainty she'd been feeling earlier that day, it was amazing to see her cast her feelings aside and assume a perfectly calm and controlled appearance.   
  
[This is how Nanny and Koran wish she would be all the time.] Pidge winced at the thought of Allura acting this way all the time. It would be so boring for her. He was brought out of this thoughts at the sound of Allura and the others taking a few steps down the stairs, waiting at the landing that was at the middle of the staircase. The doors opened, allowing a small party to enter and stop at the bottom of the stairs where Koran awaited.  
  
Lance watched the men closely, counting six of them and noting their battle suits, much like the ones they used but black instead of white, he had a feeling he wasn't going to like this company's visit. Koran greeted them enthusiastically, shaking the young man at the head of the group's hand happily.  
  
"Its a pleasure to have you here again!"   
  
"Its nice to be here Koran," the young man smiled and turned towards the staircase, eyes going directly to Allura.   
  
Her voice was surprisingly cold as she welcomed their guest, "Welcome to Arus your highness, to what, may I ask, do we owe this pleasure?"  
  
Lance and Keith shared a look, wondering who this guy was that he could cause such a reaction in the usually friendly princess.   
  
"I've come in hopes of recovering what I lost the last time I left," the young man standing below replied.  
  
For the next few minutes the air seemed to freeze, no one speaking a word as Allura and the new arrival maintained a strained eye contact. Finally giving sigh, Allura turned away, "You will excuse me for not playing the perfect hostess tonight but I am feeling a bit unwell. Koran and Nanny will make sure to help with whatever you need."  
  
"Allie wait!"   
  
Allura tensed but spoke over her shoulder, "I have no problems with you staying here for as long as you need, but please refrain from calling me anything other than Princess or Your highness."  
  
"Princess!" Nanny shook her head at her angrily, "That's no way to behave after all this time!"  
  
The new guy frowned and came up to her side, "Since when do we use the correct protocol? You're MY Allie, I gave you the nickname."  
  
"And YOU also left me here all alone!" Allura faced him again, tears brimming in her eyes, "Don't blame ME for your leaving Theodore! I didn't turn MY back on you! Not even after all those horrible things you said! I still cared..."   
  
"I came to talk to you about that," he quickly interrupted, "But I was hoping we could have some privacy to talk?"  
  
Allura shook her head, "Not tonight, I'm exhausted and I just want to sleep. I don't want to think or worry or stress. I just want to sleep."  
  
Turning away again, she was about to headed back to her room when one of the prince's escorts spoke up, making her stop and turn with a shocked expression on her face.  
  
"I told you she'd shoot you down," A tall, black-haired, blue-eyed guy smirked and gave a dimpled smile to Allura, crossing his arms and leaning against the rail easily. "He really is an idiot when it comes to women."  
  
Allura grinned and came back down towards him. "Maybe you could give him some lessons, since you seem to be so good with them."  
  
"Seem to be?" he raised and eyebrow. "I don't recall having any difficulties with a woman."  
  
"Yet," Allura's voice was teasing.  
  
He smirked, uncrossing his arms and stepping closer to her, stopping a couple of steps below her so they were at eye level with one another, "Is that a challenge?"   
  
"What if it is?" Allura tossed her hair over her shoulder, resting a hand on her hip and giving him a sexy smirk, "You really think you're up to it?"  
  
"Oh I'm UP for anything you can dish out," he replied, smirking again her slight flush and a shake of her head.  
  
Allura laughed suddenly, catching everyone by surprise when she hopped down one step and threw her arms around his neck. "You old dog! I'm so glad you're here!"   
  
He hugged her back, "What? Would I miss a chance to see you again?"  
  
"I should think not!" Allura was still laughing while she pulled back a little, keeping his arms around her waist. "But you haven't introduced me to your handsome new friends."  
  
"New friends? You really must be in need of some glasses if you can't recognize us," another one of them stepped up with a grin.  
  
"Well I've had so many men in my life, its hard to remember all their names," Allura laughed at their combined scowls and smiled brightly, "How've you guys been? I'm surprised to see you with his highness of all people."  
  
"What can we say, its good pay and the work's not so bad," the guy holding her shrugged.   
  
"Well I really must get back to bed, I'm so tired," Allura yawned and stepped away, waving to the others before turning to go back up the stairs. "Nanny and Koran can introduce you guys to the voltron force."   
  
She gave her teammates a smile, thanking Lance for earlier before heading to her room, grabbing Ken along the way. "We need to talk."  
  
"You are in so much trouble missy," Ken followed shaking his head at her back.   
  
"Don't I know it," Allura sighed and glanced back at all the guys watching her leave.  
  
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The next morning the dinning room was quite busy, since there were so many people at the castle, they set out the large table and had a buffet. Keith, Lance, Ken and Theodore, being used to getting up early, were the first to eat and had a relatively quiet breakfast, each reading his own newspaper, book, or other documents. When the door opened to reveal a sleepy Allura drag her feet over to a chair, Lance and Keith stood, one grabbing a drink while the other fixed her a light plate with fruit and toast.   
  
"Thanks," she sighed and rubbed her eyes while they set them down in front of her. She yawned, stretching her arms back before smiling and asking how they'd slept.  
  
"Fine, but we were left wondering about you last night," Keith waited for her to explain.   
  
Allura shrugged, eating the fruit up quickly, "I was really tired, you know, that breakdown took a lot out of me."   
  
A familiar voice came from the doorway and they turned to see the guy she'd hugged last night come in wearing a pair of silk pants and some slippers. Allura giggled and stood, shaking her head at him a little, "What were you thinking, coming down in just your pjs mister?"  
  
"That it'd be rude of me to come get breakfast in the nude," he grinned at her pretty blush and grabbed an apple, biting into it casually.   
  
"You are so bad Damien," Allura grabbed a plate and served herself some eggs and ham.   
  
He shrugged, "What can I say, I WAS rumored to be the spawn of the devil a few times."  
  
Allura grinned, "Now why doesn't that surprise me, Damien Nicolae?"   
  
He smirked and shrugged casually, "Beats me, shall I?"   
  
Pulling back her chair for her to sit, he took a seat in the empty spot next to her and finally seemed to realize there were more people in the room. "Good morning, I guess we forgot our manners a bit. Allura really has been a bad hostess, I'm Damien and he's Theodore the jerk."  
  
"Hey!" The prince frowned and threw a fruit at him.  
  
Allura snickered, her voice taunting when she spoke, "Its not like he's lying."   
  
Theodore coughed and stood, grabbing his book as he left, "We need to talk princess, I'll be waiting in the room for you."  
  
"Don't hold your breath," Allura mumbled, yelping at a prick in her side. "What was that for?!"  
  
"You should be nice and listen to the guy, he's here with a good reason." Damien's expression had become serious when Theodore left.   
  
Allura shrugged and focused on the food in her plate, asking about the guy's plans for the day. Keith and Lance had some meetings with the town's police and fire departments and would be gone most of the day, Ken had been planning on going back to the city, but wasn't too sure about how wise that would be now.  
  
"Just because I'm in a castle full of young men?" Allura grinned, "Really Ken-ii, such little faith you have in me. I did spend a month and a half sharing my bed with a man and without having sex, remember?"  
  
"A month and a half?" Damien whistled, "Whoever he is deserves a reward for keeping his hands to himself. Damn!"   
  
Allura met Lance's eyes and smiled, "Yeah, he's really great."  
  
"The man's a saint!" Damien insisted, "Unless he's a eunuch."  
  
Not surprisingly Lance choked suddenly, having been drinking some juice when the statement was made and Allura giggled. "Nope, he's not a eunuch, just very... disciplined."  
  
"Hell I'm disciplined but that doesn't mean I wouldn't seduce you the first night I got you in my bed," Damien shrugged and finished his meal.   
  
Suddenly hearing a very familiar voice giving out some orders from the direction of the kitchen, Allura gasped and stood, quickly pulling Damien out of his chair. "You've got to get some clothes on, right now!"   
  
"Woah! Why now?" Damien followed her out and into a nearby closet when Nanny appeared and went into the dinning room.   
  
Allura shook her head at him and peeked out to make sure the coast was clear, "Because if Nanny saw you like that she'd kill me for staying nearby, not to mention she'd kill you too."  
  
"Ah, I see, and this isn't just a ruse to get me into a closet for a quickie?" Damien smirked at her startled expression before she noticed his hands on her hips.   
  
Having come down without worrying about a robe, Allura suddenly realized her own outfit was less than what Nanny would call 'acceptable' with a black tank top and some loosely tied black pants. Since the tank top had a built in bra, she wasn't wearing one underneath it and now that she thought about it, her lacy black underwear were really not what she should have been wearing either. As his hands moved slowly up her sides, she suddenly snapped out of it and stepped away, shaking her head at him.  
  
"Sorry, but its definitely not a ruse to get laid Damien, I just didn't want you or me to get into trouble," Allura stepped out of the closet and once again made sure no one was watching before making her way to her room to get dressed. Damien went the opposite direction to his own room, whistling an easy going tune as he went.  
  
The rest of the day went by uneventfully, Allura was once again locked up in her room with her studies, Prince Theodore took a tour with three of his men, the voltron force went about their duties and everything seemed fine until dinner time came around and Allura had yet to leave her room.   
  
"Has anyone seen Damien? I haven't seen him all day," a young escort, Neil, asked as they entered the dinning room.   
  
"Damien AND Allura have yet to show?" Ken and Theodore shared a look, both standing and heading outside, surprised when the pair entered, laughing and wiping their eyes.  
  
"And remember the time with the club and the lights and..."  
  
"And the owner's meeting with..."  
  
"Yeah!" Allura covered her mouth as she bent over with laughter. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she leaned against a nearby table, her giggling causing her to gasp for air. It was the first time since Maru's death that she'd laughed and smiled so much and Lance could only wonder why they hadn't been able to cheer her up.   
  
Derek was also having a good time judging by his laughter, even after Theodore shot him a furious glare and demanded to know where he'd been all day, his smile couldn't be erased. The fact that both Allura and Derek's hair was slightly damp making it impossible to think they hadn't been out together. Derek shrugged and straightened a bit.   
  
"It was really hot earlier so we decided to take a walk along that small river in the forest but then someone decided it'd be fun to cross it by stepping on the rocks inside it and ended up slipping on a moss covered stone. Since this someone is rather important and it wouldn't have done to leave them there I had to jump in and get her out, thus we both got soaking wet and we just came from changing."  
  
"You were down at that river today?" Nanny crossed her arms angrily, "Just when did you get out of your room? We didn't see you leave, no one did."  
  
Allura had finally calmed and was moving over to take a seat, "That's not true, I paid off the person who helped us get out, and no, I'm not telling you who it was."   
  
She shrugged and motioned for everyone to take their seats. Unlike the previous night, today she was the perfect hostess, entertaining everyone, making sure they all got along and that the conversation didn't dwindle or become uncomfortable. Once the dessert was done with, Allura stood and was about to excuse herself for the night when Theodore asked for a moment to speak with her.   
  
After getting a look from Damien and remembering his telling her to give him a chance, she nodded and they headed into a small sitting room her mother had used to entertain close friends. After closing the door behind her, she sighed and turned to her ex-fiancee, uncertain of what was to come.   
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Come on, you can do better," Lance grinned, watching the others hesitate briefly.  
  
"I'll pay," Damien set the amount on the table while everyone else backed out. "Let's see what you've got."  
  
Lowering his cards to the table, Lance smirked as he showed the perfect hand, "Quinitilla."   
  
"Shit," Damien whistled and threw down his cards, "I don't think I've seen many of those before."  
  
"Wow," Pidge and the others came closer to see the cards, "That's nearly impossible."  
  
Lance grinned and piled his chips, unwrapping one and chewing the chocolate slowly, "I love using chocolate coins for betting."  
  
Hunk nodded, "Makes the game more interesting."  
  
When a sudden cheering came from the pool table at the other end of the room, they decided to take a break and went over to find out what was going on. Ken and Neil were facing off and Ken had just gotten the final ball in, earning a couple of the guys some betting money. "Sorry man," Ken shook his hand and handed the stick over to Keith.   
  
They were all taking a drink break and joking around when the door suddenly opened, catching everyone's attention and focusing it on the people entering the room. Nanny and Koran went over to the table and waited for the couple standing in the doorway. Allura stood beside Theodore, her arm looped in his and smiling brightly as he cheerfully ordered everyone to grab a drink for an announcement.   
  
"After hours of talking, catching up and clearing old misunderstandings, Allura and I have reconciled and I am proud to announce that you are now looking at the future, Mr and Mrs Theodore Kavanagh."   
  
There was a mixed reaction to the news, the voltron force's and Ken's confusion was easily covered by the others' enthusiastic congratulations. Nanny's overjoyed cries filled the room as she hugged her princess and then the prince. Koran congratulated them excitedly and watched with proud eyes as Allura showed off her ring, the one she'd worn during her vacation having been removed after she'd arrived at the palace.  
  
Hunk and Pidge eventually came over to congratulate her, as well as Keith and Ken, but Lance remained frozen in place, watching as the couple was congratulated and shared toasts with their friends. Looking at the beautiful princess standing beside her prince, he felt a knot form in his throat as he admitted they made a handsome couple.   
  
Allura stood nestled into Theodore's side, her beautiful long hair contrasting his dark black tresses perfectly. They stood tall and lean, both fit and healthy. Her pale skin another contrast to his tanned look, her bright blue eyes going against his chocolate brown orbs. They were complete opposites, but they fit together perfectly, bringing out the best in the other. [They do say opposites attract]   
  
Snapping out of his thoughts as Koran came up beside him, he made his way over and finally congratulated them. "You're a lucky man," he smiled at Theodore and moved his eyes down to hers.   
  
Allura met his gaze hesitantly, a guilty look in her eyes as she accepted his well wishes. "I know you've missed your Teddy, its good to see you finally got him back."  
  
"Yes it is," she smiled and looked away quickly when a toast was declared. There were many toasts made that night and the celebrating didn't end until very late.   
  
When he was finally able to go to his room, Lance was relieved to sink into a deep sleep, keeping the plauging thoughts of Allura married to another man from driving him to do something he'd later regret. [There's no way I can stay for this though, I couldn't bear to watch her marry another man.]   
  
With that last thought he slipped off into a dream-filled sleep, images of him and Allura at the beach, the park, their bed back at the apartment haunting him during the night.   
  
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	14. Good bye

Title: Friendship

Author: KawaiiChica

E-mail: KawaiiChicahotmail.com

Rating: R - For adult situations and language.

Disclaimer: Not mine - just borrowed for the fic.

" " Speaking

[ ] Thoughts

Flashbacks  
  
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It was dark and cold outside, the storm earlier that day leaving a cold wind behind, but the solitary figure out on the bridge seemed undisturbed by the breeze rushing through her loose hair. Indeed, despite the warm fire waiting in her room, Allura didn't seem likely to come inside any time soon.  
  
Making his way over with a small blanket in hand, Keith hesitated about whether or not to disturb her in her peace. Unlike the others who'd jumped to congratulate Lance, he'd focused on the princess' reaction and was not surprised to see a brief flash of guilt and pain in her eyes before she shook it off and managed to form a smile.  
  
[There's something wrong with this, she doesn't want to marry Theodore, it's obvious enough by their behavior. If she's stll in love with Lance, why would she have gotten engaged to someone else?]  
  
"Everything ok commander?" Allura's voice drifted back towards him.  
  
Keith moved forward and settled the blanket over her shoulders before taking a seat beside her, facing in the opposite direction as her. "Just thought you might be cold."  
  
Allura shrugged, tucking the blanket around her so it wouldn't fall off, "I hadn't thought of it."  
  
"So I noticed," Keith looked up at the stars above and waited another moment to speak again, "You've been out here for a while now."  
  
Allura nodded, "I have much to think about."  
  
"Nothing too pleasant by the looks of it," Keith looked beside him at her pale face, made paler by the soft moonlight.  
  
After a moment she spoke again, "I can't blame him for leaving, I don't know if I could watch him marry someone else either. I can't ask for that."  
  
"I should hope not," Keith bit his lip at the pain that flashed in her eyes again.  
  
"But I don't want him to go," she whispered, staring out at the water rippling beneath the bridge, the cold air creating small waves. "I never meant for this to happen, Theodore was left in the past and I was hoping for..."  
  
"For a future with someone else?" Keith whispered, watching her nod.  
  
"We had just made up again when they arrived," Allura sighed, "Given it was a shaky thing still. We needed to talk things out and take it slowly, but even the chance was ruined."  
  
"So you're still in love with him?"  
  
Another nod, her eyes filling with tears which were quickly blinked back, "Its not something you get over so quickly you know."  
  
"Yeah," Speaking from experience, Keith frowned a bit, "Then why marry another man?"  
  
"I refused at first," Allura finally seemed to process the cold and shivered, pulling the blanket tighter around her. "I blatantly refused to marry a man who would make me feel dirty and humiliated the way he had."  
  
"And then?"  
  
Looking up to the castle, Allura sighed and looked away again, "And then he explained some things, made some strong entreaties, and finally reminded me that it was our parents' wish we marry. He had their copy of the engagement agreement and letters from my mother and father to his, telling about how happy they were with the match and how well we got along."  
  
"So he pulled the old guilt trip," Keith shivered in the cold and pulled his jacket closer. "Hard to say no to your dead parent's wishes, isn't it?"  
  
"Very," Allura nodded, resting her cheek against his shoulder, "There's another thing, I don't know what to make of it."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Teddy's behavior years ago, all the awful things he said," Allura bit her lip and hesitated, "He was horrified by what had happened and even more so when he was told the details because he'd..."  
  
"He'd?" Keith leaned back to look into her eyes, "What?"  
  
"He'd been one of them," Allura swallowed and looked up at him with troubled eyes, "He came for my birthday and when he was told I was gone, he stayed for a vacation with some friends. They were taken by a guy to the mansion where grosspapa took me and he heard about their 'princess' and..."  
  
"He didn't," Keith whispered, shocked by the news.  
  
"He did," Allura whispered, "He didn't know it was me, he was drunk and I was drugged."  
  
"Shit"  
  
"Yeah"  
  
Keith stared ahead, trying to sort through the implications of that, finally focusing on one thought, "You're marrying one of your rapists."  
  
Allura gulped, shivering harder both from the wind and the sudden cold inside of her and stood, "I don't know how to deal with that."  
  
[Well hell, how does one deal with that?] Standing also, he draped an arm over her shoulders while they made their way back to the castle, each lost in their thoughts but the embrace a small comfort to the princess.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------  
  
"What are you still doing down here?" Nanny stomped over behind the girl bent over some paperwork on the desk in front of her.  
  
"Hmmm?" Allura turned and sighed, "Oh, I'm just finishing a few small things, I'll be ready in time."  
  
"Not at this rate princess, you must get upstairs now if you're to be ready, the guests will arrive at any given moment." Taking her by the arm, Nanny led her out of the library and over to the stairs. "You go ahead, I'll get your dress from the ironing room and be there in a moment. Oh your grandfather will be in for such a surprise!"  
  
"Who?" Allura asked stiffly, inwardly shaking her head at what she'd just heard.  
  
"Why, your grandfather," Nanny sighed, "Its been a long time since he's been a guest in this castle. I'm sure he'll be very proud when he sees you in your mother's engagement dress."  
  
Allura gritted her teeth, asking quietly, "And just WHO invited him?"  
  
"I did of course, its the only proper thing to do. He's family and you seemed to have forgotten his invitation so I added it." Nanny's attention was caught suddenly by a girl setting a flower vase in the wrong place and turned to correct her.  
  
[I can't believe she would do this!] Teeming in anger, Allura stomped upstairs and opened her doors with a bang. A pair of ladies jumped, two of Nanny's assistants about as stubborn as she was, and were about to scold her when they were cut off by her furious shout. "OUT!"  
  
With a gasp, they hurried to do her bidding, one of them crashing into a surprised Lance who'd come to see what was the matter when her doors slammed open. The three were completely taken aback by the princess' anger, "And tell Nanny her assistance will NOT be needed! She can KEEP my mother's dress and forget about my wearing it!"  
  
"But princess its tradition that you..."  
  
"To HELL with tradition! I'll wear whatever I damn well please!" With that she entered her room and slammed the doors shut.  
  
A glass shattered afterwards, making the ladies jump and hurry down to speak to Nanny. Hesitating for a moment, Lance knocked on the door and jumped when it was flung open. "WHAT?"  
  
Her anger cooled immediately, replaced by a wince and a sheepish look, "Sorry, I thought you were someone else."  
  
"What's the matter?"  
  
"He's coming," she mumbled, chin trembling and hands fisting in anger at her sides, "Nanny had the GALL to invite MY grandfather!"  
  
Gaping in surprise, he said the only thing that came to mind, "He'll be here?"  
  
"Yes, tonight!" Seeming to process that thought, she slumped and shook her head, "I warned him never to come again and Nanny has to go behind my back and do this. Who does she think she is? After all, this is my party and I obviously hadn't invited him for a reason!"  
  
"It mustn't have been a very important reason or he wouldn't have accepted," Nanny stepped beside Lance and held up the dress, "May I come in? This is kind of heavy you know."  
  
Allura grabbed the door and gave her a furious glare, "Well then have someone take it back for you because I am NOT wearing it!"  
  
"Oh yes you are!"  
  
"No, I'm not and I will not discuss this with you. As you have said so many times, I am the princess and as such what I say goes. I am no longer a child who will listen to your every word, I don't wish to wear that horrendous thing and I won't." Casting Lance a quick, apologetic smile, she proceeded to shut and lock the door in their faces.  
  
"Princess you open the door this instant!" Nanny stuttered and huffed at the young man smirking beside her, "Of all the times for her to take her duties and privileges seriously, this is not the best one!"  
  
"I'd say its about time actually," Lance shook his head at the hurt babysitter, "I'm afraid she's outgrown you Nanny, she no longer needs you to tell her what to do."  
  
"Of course she does! I've watched over that girl since she was born, she'll always..."  
  
"Love you and give you a place in her home, but she's not a girl anymore, she's a woman," taking the dress from her, he smiled softly and bade her lead the way.  
  
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"Its a good thing Nanny and Koran were ready to greet the guests, Allura and Theodore have yet to come out of their rooms." Pidge tugged his elegant black coat down, uncomfortable in the stuffy evening wear.  
  
"I wonder what she'll be wearing, you heard about her refusal to use her mother's engagement dress?" Hunk whispered so as not to be overheard.  
  
"Of course, I think all the castle knew within the hour, those two assistants have mouths bigger than your appetite," smiling at a gentleman walking by, they sighed and prayed they'd be able to slip away early.  
  
The castle was filled with important lords and ladies from all of Arus and visitors from Galaxy Garrison and other planets. Romelle and Sven were there, but unfortunately they were caught up with other officials and stuck talking about politics and other drab topics. Keith and Lance were with an old friend at the opposite side of the room, talking about old times from their training days at the academy.  
  
A gentleman's head snapping up towards the doorway caught Pidge's attention, making him look up to see who had arrived, the sight made his mouth drop. Standing beside Theodore in full regalia, was Allura in a dress far from conventional. Unlike all the other ladies' dresses, which had corsets, long sleeves and large, poofy skirts (think her pink dress or cinderella's dress) Alura's dress was simple but elegant.  
  
The shimmering midnight blue material hugged her curves down to her hips, then tapered off to allow her legs room to walk, the loose skirt flowing around her while she moved with a small train trailing at her back. The top of the gown was sleeveless, her long arms and creamy shoulders exposed for all to see. She wore a small necklace that hung barely below the base of her neck, bringing one's attention to the top of her gown where the slightest swell of her breasts teased the eye. Her hair was left loose, a sparkling flower holding the top half of it together at the base of her neck to keep it from getting in her face, except for a few wispy curls framing it. Her make-up was light, pale pinks, a little eyeliner, mascara and a glistening pink lipstick on her lips.  
  
She was breathtaking and the room immediately fell into a shocked silence. Never had a young princess worn anything so brazenly unconventional. If they did opt for sleeveless dresses they still wore their corsets and large round skirts. It was an act of defiance and everyone knew it.  
  
Theodore broke the silence, welcoming everyone and thanking them for coming, excusing them both for being a bit late. The previously stunned guests snapped out of their shock and applauded the young couple, congratulating them while they made their way around the room. Theodore's arm remained wrapped around Allura's waist, holding her close while they accepted the remarks with ease.  
  
After half an hour of chit-chatting, greeting the guests and so on, Allura announced that a buffet had been set up and that the music would begin soon. Most of the guests flocked to the patio where a large netted tent had been set up for the food tables. Theodore went along with Damien and Neil while Allura stayed back and had some time with Sven and Romelle.  
  
"It's so good to see you!" The girls hugged, bright smiles on both their faces.  
  
"Careful not to squeeze too tight princess," Sven scolded lightly.  
  
Romelle stuck out her tongue and shushed him, "You certainly never hesitate to hug me as tight as you want, and Allura isn't nearly as strong as you."  
  
"All right, just be careful, I'll go get you some food so the two of you can talk," bowing, he turned and hurried over to where the voltron force waited for food.  
  
Allura hugged her cousin once again, tears stinging her eyes at the thought of having some female companionship. She still missed Maru immensely, she'd been Allura's only female friend and confidant, and like most women, she needed some girl talk. "I have so much to tell you."  
  
"Yeah, like why I heard the rumor that you were married to Lance?" Romelle smiled when she let go.  
  
"Playacting, nothing more," a new male voice answered for her.  
  
Allura stiffened and turned to the doorway where her grandfather stood. He was in complete formal dress, black slacks, white shirt, his kingdom's traditional golden jacket and with his elegant cane in hand. He eyed her dress and smiled, a chill going through Romelle at the sight. He might have been older but something about this man gave her a bad impression. He had an impressive air about him, exuding both power and bit of coldness.  
  
Gathering her courage, she stepped around Allura to face him, "And who might you be sir?"  
  
He raised an eyebrow at her but focused on her cousin again, "I am the bride's grandfather and legal guardian."  
  
"Not for long," Allura reminded him, "I am to be wed next month, you should congratulate me."  
  
"But of course," moving to her side, he gave her a cold smile and touched his lips to her cheek. "Congratulations my dear, how does it feel to know you're marrying such a close friend?"  
  
"Its no surprise really, I've always known I was going to marry Theodore remember? Our parents were praying for this union my whole life, so it's nice to be able to do something that I know they would have approved of," Allura smiled casually.  
  
"Your highness would you care for something to eat?" Lance joined the group, offering Allura his arm.  
  
"I'd love to, if you'll excuse us grosspapa? Romelle needs to eat also, her husband is fetching her a plate," Taking Lance's arm, she grabbed onto Romelle's wrist and left him standing there on his own.  
  
"That was rude Allura," her cousin scolded her.  
  
"It was too polite if you ask me," Lance defended her, steering them towards Sven who was serving two plates of food.  
  
Romelle laughed at his near-collision to a general and moved ahead of them, "I think I'll go help my husband, we'll talk later ok?"  
  
"That's fine," Allura watched her go and smiled up at the man beside her, "Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome," Feeling slightly uncomfortable standing alone for a moment for the first time since Theodore had returned, Lance looked down and caught sight of her wrist. "You're wearing your bracelet."  
  
"I thought it went with the dress," Allura looked down at her wrist before a visiting leader from Galaxy Garrison came up and interrupted them.  
  
"Excuse me, you're Lance McClain, right?"  
  
"Yes sir," Lance nodded, not recognizing the man before him.  
  
"I'm Colonel Jenkins from Galaxy Garrison, I appointed you to the expedition," The man saw his eyes widen a tiny bit before he gave another short nod. "And I was thinking that if could be ready, it would be very helpful if you could come back with me to the garrison sooner than we'd planned so we could go over a few details I could not tell you about in the letter I had to send."  
  
"How much sooner?" Allura asked.  
  
Colonel Jenkins shrugged and looked down at his watch, "I'm set to leave tomorrow at noon, could you be ready to go by then?"  
  
"If I retire early from the party, yes sir," Lance felt a cold breeze float by and Allura shivered beside him. "I'll be ready to go by then."  
  
"Excellent! I can see why you were so highly recommended for the project, I look forward to working with you." Shaking his hand, the Colonel excused himself from them and moved over to get a drink now that things were settled.  
  
Allura felt as if a ton of bricks had been dropped on her suddenly, taking hold of his arm to steady herself. When he turned to look at her, she fought back tears and forced herself to smile, "He seems nice enough, who knows? This could be a great step forward in your military career."  
  
"Like anything could top being the pilot to red lion?" Lance smirked, "But you're right, he does seem like an all right fellow. We'll see."  
  
"You'll see," Allura looked away, releasing his arm suddenly, "We haven't been able to talk but..."  
  
Lance cut her off, "It's all right, things are as they should be, don't you think? We knew we'd eventually be re-assigned, I'm just the first to go, and you'll be married to the man you always wanted to marry."  
  
Allura nodded, "Yeah, I guess you're right."  
  
Hearing her name being called from a group not far away, she gave him a small smile before moving to join the visiting royals, surprised when he spoke again. "You look great tonight, by the way."  
  
That brought a real smile to her face, "You really think so?"  
  
"Yeah, that blue's the exact color of your eyes," Lance smiled back, signaling over to the group that had called out to her.  
  
Turning away again, Allura sighed and gave them her princess smile, plotting a way to get away from the party early herself. Reaching a group of younger diplomats, she was relieved to see that she knew one of the princes from a visit to Galaxy Garrison before the war. Chatting easily with the more liberal-minded group, she felt herself being stared at and briefly glanced around for signs of anyone looking her way. No one was looking but she still had the nagging feeling that she was being watched. A glimpse over her shoulder showed her grandfather watching from a group of military men from neighboring kingdoms and made her quickly turn back to the group she'd joined.  
  
[What could he want? Mick paid him quite a sum of money last time, he can't possibly need any now] Hearing the orchestra signal the beginning of the dancing, Allura smiled at Theodore when he joined her and led her inside to the dance floor. They danced the first song together and then she was passed from partner to partner over the next. She lost count of how many she'd danced with after a while and was beginning to feel rather woozy when Keith bowed before her.  
  
After the first spin, he looked down into her eyes and smiled, "You've been dancing all night princess, you're wearing yourself out."  
  
"My feet hurt like the very devil," Allura admitted, causing him to laugh quite naturally. "I'd give anything to go to bed to be honest."  
  
"I know, and I can help you escape," motioning to the slightly diminished crowd in the ballroom, he saw her eyes widen and smiled. "You've been dancing literally for hours, now I'm going to waltz us over to that spot right there and we'll be able to spin off into that dark corner undetected. After that, you can sneak up to your room while I hide out for a while behind the column over there, what do you say?"  
  
"I say you're the best man I've ever met," Allura smiled gratefully before her eyes dimmed again, "He's leaving tomorrow."  
  
Keith frowned, "What?!"  
  
"Lance, he spoke to Colonel Jenkins who's to be his boss on the expedition and he's leaving tomorrow at noon." Allura sighed in relief as he maneuvered them out of sight as he'd told her and they finally stopped dancing. "I was there when he agreed."  
  
"I'm sorry," Keith whispered, surprised that Lance had failed to mention it, "I was wondering why he left so early."  
  
"He's snuck out already?" Allura glanced over the ballroom and saw that indeed he was no longer there.  
  
"He's probably packing," Keith sighed and moved them furthur back into the shadows. "If I were you I'd slip off now, I have to move away from here also or they'll come looking for us and know I helped you sneak away."  
  
"Thanks Keith," placing a kiss on his cheek, Allura turned and touched a panel on the wall, sliding it out of place and ducking behind it quickly before it moved back, leaving no trace of the secret passageway.  
  
Keith watched and shook his head, "That girl probably knows more ways of getting around than the guy who built this place."  
  
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"That's it!"  
  
Closing the last of his bags, Lance sighed and lay back on his bed, staring up at his room for one of the last times. He didn't have a lot of things to pack so he hadn't taken long, but seeing the room so empty felt sort of depressing, confirming the fact that he really was leaving, and soon.  
  
Turning off the light beside his bed, he closed his eyes, thinking back to the moment Allura had stepped into the room with Theodore earlier. She'd literally taken his breath away, making him forget all about the conversation he'd been in with his friends the moment he saw her. Standing there in the shockingly revealing dress, he'd seen the disapproval in Theodore's eyes and felt like punching the idiot's lights out.  
  
Who cared about what people might think? He had the most beautiful girl in the cosmos on his arm and the man had the gall to shake his head at her dress? Hell, Lance would have puffed up with pride at having such a beauty beside him.  
  
He went over the way her dress hugged her curves and remembering another time when he'd been given an equally stunning view of them, that night at the beach house that they'd had to sleep outside because of their noisy neighbors upstairs. Thinking of the soft white nightgown she'd worn that night, he was surprised to hear a familiar noise beneath him suddenly.  
  
Remaining frozen on his bed, he listened to the light scratching of the drawer moving out of place, felt the slight dip of fingers gripping the edge of his bed to pull the figure out, hearing the soft rustle of clothing sliding along the floor. A soft sigh reached his ears and he sucked in a breath sitting up in his bed and moving one hand towards the light, only to feel a small pair of hands reach out and touch his chest.  
  
He recognized those hands, it would be impossible not to after all the times she'd cuddled close to him for comfort. Before he could speak though, they slid up to cup his face and pull him forward, breathing his name softly before their lips met.  
  
Like that time on the beach , their kiss was hot and needy, his arms sliding around her as she pushed him onto his back, her body stretching out over his. She wore another silky nightdress with nothing beneath it he found out soon enough with his hands roaming over her body. Allura straddled one of his legs and pressed down into him even while her hands massaged his scalp.  
  
Need rushing through him, Lance's hands slid beneath her gown and had it up around her waist before he knew what he was doing. However his need was drowned the moment she broke off the kiss and whispered his name again, his hands freezing at her waist and body stiffening in surprise beneath her.  
  
Allura felt the change and also stiffened, her head moving down to rest in the crook of his neck, her lips touching his adam's apple lightly. Having a windowless room had at times been a blessing, now being one of them as he struggled to cool down, knowing the sight of her would only worsen things.  
  
With a heavy heart, Lance slipped his hands out of her nightgown and began pulling it down over her legs again, "We can't do this princess."  
  
"No," Allura tightened her hold on his shoulders, "Don't call me that, you never call me that in private."  
  
"This is wrong Allie, you're getting married in a few weeks," Lance moved his hands down to his sides and fisted them when he felt her tears drop onto his skin.  
  
Allura bit her lip in pain and buried her face deeper into his neck, "I'm sorry Lance, I'm so, so sorry!"  
  
"There's nothing for you to be sorry about," he raised a hand to pat her back awkwardly and felt her nod, one of her hands sliding from his shoulder to the night stand and turning on the small lamp he had there.  
  
Raising her head from his neck, Allura looked down into his eyes and saw her own struggle in his chocolate brown orbs. "Yes there is, we were just getting things settled between us again when I had to get engaged to him. I ruined any chances of our getting back together."  
  
"We didn't belong together in the first place," Lance reminded her, "We're from two opposite ends of the system, you're at the top, and I'm from the bottom, people like us don't end up together."  
  
"They can," Allura insisted, "Look at Sven and Romelle."  
  
"They're a special case," Lance whispered, gulping at the sight of her teary eyes and trembling chin. "We're not princess, you're supposed to marry the handsome prince."  
  
"Even if I'm in love with the daring pilot?"  
  
Her words cut him like steel, and he knew she saw it by the way her eyes softened and she leaned forward a bit to kiss him on the lips again. Even when he remained impassive, Allura cupped his face in her hands and pressed gentle kisses to his mouth, mumbling gently between each one.  
  
"Because I am you know, I'm still in love with you, I always was, I was just hurt and insecure after you slept with Cassie and I was taken by Mick. I told you he made me respond and I felt dirty for it, like you deserved better."  
  
Lance shook his head at that, "I don't deserve you."  
  
Allura bit his lower lip before sucking it between hers and gently massaging it with her own. "I don't deserve you either but I'm not going anywhere unless you make me. Go ahead, tell me you don't love me and I'll leave."  
  
"Allura"  
  
Pulling back, she rested her elbows on either side of his face and met his eyes, smiling at the glassy look in them for a second before becoming serious again. "Tell me Lance, say it out loud. If you can make me believe you don't love me anymore I'll go."  
  
Closing his eyes, Lance moaned deep in his throat, his hands coming back up around her to pull her down for another kiss. Allura sighed and melted into him, eagerly kissing back when their lips met again. Reaching over, she clicked off the light and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding tight as he rolled them over and pressed her back into the bed.  
  
Finally breaking apart, Lance kissed her neck and sighed, "We can't do this love, we really can't."  
  
"Lance don't do this again, you stopped last time at the beach and I swear if you stop now I'll use all my knowledge of tying people up against you," Allura whispered, feeling his laugh rumble through his chest against hers.  
  
"Allura you're supposed to be at your engagement ball," Lance reminded her.  
  
"I'm not feeling well," Allura whispered against his ear, nibbling along the edge of it lightly. "You're leaving in less than twelve hours Lance, lets not waste any more time?"  
  
"No, we've wasted enough already." Crushing his lips to hers again, he soon forgot all about her engagement, his impending trip, and everything they'd struggled through, concentrating instead on the silky skin, soft curves and sweet feminine cries of the woman he loved.  
  
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"Have you seen Lance? He's leaving today," Keith asked the others as he joined them for breakfast. The majority of the castle was still asleep, since the guests of the ball had spent the night there after partying until the early hours of the morning. Allura had been excused after claiming a headache and Theodore had eventually slipped away also.  
  
No one had noticed Lance's disappearance, save those who were looking for him like his friends. Now there were a scant two hours left before his departure and he had yet to show up.  
  
"He must be sleeping still, most of the castle is," Romelle yawned and rested her head against Sven's shoulder. They'd escaped relatively early also, using her recently announced pregnancy as their excuse.  
  
After serving themselves breakfast, the group headed upstairs to the lounge and were surprised to see Allura's door closing. Sharing a confused look, they shrugged and continued on their way. They were about halfway through their meal when Lance appeared, holding two bowls of cereal and a plate of toast.  
  
Allura entered soon afterwords, holding two cups of juice and sets of silverware. "Hey guys!"  
  
"What's up?" Setting their food on the coffee table, Lance took the juice from her hands and sat on the ground, with Allura close to his side.  
  
"Feeling better princess? We were told you had a headache last night," Pidge asked in obvious concern.  
  
"Yeah I'm ok now, thanks," digging into her cereal, Allura managed to fight down a blush and giggled when Lance poked her in the side.  
  
"And you! You're leaving today and you don't say anything?" Romelle scolded, dimming everyone's mood immediately.  
  
"It was unexpected but Colonel Jenkins asked me to accompany him last night," Lance nodded, biting into his toast with a frown.  
  
"Hey, you are not spending your last hours here frowning!" Allura slapped his arm and smiled, "We're planning on going for a ride after eating, you guys wanna come?"  
  
"Yeah!"  
  
"Sounds great"  
  
Eating quickly, they left their dishes there and ordered their horses to be saddled. Romelle excused herself and stayed in the library instead, knowing it would be risky to go for a ride in her condition. The others eagerly mounted and were off.  
  
Riding along the countryside, through the nearby woods and into the town where they stopped by Maru and Oma's home, they spent the time laughing and pointing out places they'd played jokes on each other or snuck out of the castle to hang out. With only half an hour left, they slowly made their way back, dreading the departure to come.  
  
After dismounting, Hunk, Pidge, Sven and Romelle waited outside talking to Colonel Jenkins while Allura, Keith and Lance went up for his things. On their way up, Theodore and Damien crossed their path and were told the news. They congratulated him and joined the others outside.  
  
Once they were in Lance's room, Keith sighed and took his bags, leaving for the pair to have some time alone together. Allura looked over at the bed she'd spent the night in and felt tears well in her eyes. Silently, Lance pulled her into his arms and lowered his head to hers for a kiss. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Allura held tightly and focused on memorizing everything she could about the moment, the warmth of his arms around her, his scent, his taste, knowing he was doing the same.  
  
Ending the kiss, he felt a tear on his cheek resting against hers and wiped it away gently with one hand. Moving apart, he grabbed the last bag and took one final look at his room before opening the door and following her out. Praying no one would notice her tears on their way down, Allura leaned against his arm and laughed as he pointed out the hallway they'd spent a night sliding down with their socks on, and the place he'd first met up with her late at night.  
  
"Ready to go?" Colonel Jenkins stood at the door and checked his watch.  
  
"Yes sir," Reaching the others, Lance let go of Allura to hug and say good- bye to his friends. Hunk, Pidge and Keith gave him tight hugs goody-bye and promised to keep in touch, all of them rather choked up but keeping their calm. Theodore and Damien shook hands with him and wished him well. Sven and Romelle also gave him a tight hugs good-bye and wished him luck on the trip. Nanny and Koran had been told and they both gave him small gifts.  
  
Stopping in front of Allura, he kneeled formally and kissed her hand as was proper. Standing, he met her eyes and saw the tears shimmering there, shaking his head a little and cracking a joke while breaking protocol.  
  
"Aw, what the heck? Nanny can't scold me anymore!" With a chuckle, he crushed the princess in a tight hug that made the others laugh and her arms to come around him one last time.  
  
"Take care of yourself okay?" Allura managed to laugh, although a couple of tears slipped from her eyes.  
  
"Hey, you promised not to cry," Lance reminded her, tapping her on the nose playfully with his finger.  
  
Allura shrugged, "What can I say? I'm a sentimental wimp."  
  
"You take care too... love," Lance whispered the final word, turning to grab his bags and head out to the ship that would take them to galaxy garrison.  
  
"See you guys later!"  
  
Feeling an arm slip around her shoulders, Allura looked up to see Theodore beside her and felt a pang of guilt running through her, shaking it off easily when Lance turned at the end of the bridge and waved one last time.  
  
"BYE!"  
  
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Ok don't kill me, I swear this fic off yet! I promise you'll get a happy ending, and the next chapter will be the last. Odd to think this was my first fic and its taken me so long to finish – I hate writer's block. Thanks to those of you who've stuck with it!


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